Manhattan Falls to Providence In Four Sets

Box Score 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. ? Coming off its first win of the season, the Manhattan College volleyball team looked to continue that momentum going into Wednesday's non-conference tilt at Providence.  Manhattan (1-9) won the first set, but Providence (7-7) proved too strong in the end, as the Friars posted a 20-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-17 victory at Mullaney Gymnasium.

The Lady Jaspers started off well in the first set, breaking open a 9-9 tie with a 4-0 run that gave them a 13-9 lead.  Providence scored the next two points to make it 13-11 before Manhattan rallied for four of the next five points to bring the advantage back to 17-12.  However, the Friars fought all the way back and forced a 19-19 tie.  Manhattan regained the lead on back-to-back kills by Jackie Kapovich (Downers Grove, Ill.), then increased that advantage to 23-19.  After Providence won the next point, kills by Sherryta Stokes (Beltsville, Md.) and Kapovich put away the set for Manhattan, 25-20.

In the second set, Manhattan used an 8-1 run to turn an 11-11 tie into a 19-12 advantage.  Providence took a timeout to halt the run, and seized control of the match from there.  The Friars clawed all the way back and forced the Lady Jaspers to take a timeout after their lead was trimmed to 22-20.  There was no stopping Providence, however, as the Friars continued their run out of the timeout.  Providence scored 12 of the final 15 points of the set, including the last six, to steal a 25-22 win that evened the match at 1-1.

The Friars carried their momentum right into the third set.  Providence jumped out to a 5-0 lead to extend its run to 11-0 over the two sets.  This time it was Manhattan that came back from an early deficit to cause a deadlock at 8-8.  Providence went on a 9-2 run to regain the lead before the Lady Jaspers rallied for five straight points to pull within 17-15.  That's as close as Manhattan would get, however, as Providence responded with a 5-2 rally to bring the lead back to six at 23-17 and held on to take the set by a 25-19 margin.

The beginning of the fourth set was almost a carbon copy of the third.  Providence opened up a 5-1 lead before Manhattan came back to make it 9-9.  Once again, the Friars went on a long rally to take control.  Providence scored 10 of the next 13 points to go in front by a 19-12 count.  The Friars held on to their lead and won the set, 25-17, to seal a 3-1 match victory.

Stokes finished with a team-high 14 kills and 11 digs for her sixth double-double in Manhattan's last seven matches.  Andrea Reiff (Hawthorne, N.Y.) also posted a double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs.  Kapovich tallied 11 kills and nine digs, while Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.) registered 10 kills.  Alyssa Getzel (Richmond, Va.) had 36 assists for the Lady Jaspers.  For the match, Manhattan hit .212 (53-24-137) as a team.

Jeanette Toney hit .433 for the Friars, slamming 15 kills and committing just two errors in 30 attempts.  She added 10 digs, five blocks, three aces and four assists.  Elizabeth Flynn tallied nine kills and hit .389 and Kelly Krahenbuhl notched 12 digs for Providence.  Sara Sheehan hit .727 with eight kills and no errors in 11 attempts.  She also posted 12 digs and 32 assists.  The Friars hit .256 (49-17-125) as a team and out-blocked Manhattan 10-3.