Lady Jaspers Knocked Off By Siena

Box Score 

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. ? The Manhattan College volleyball team saw its two-match conference winning streak come to an end on Sunday afternoon.  The Lady Jaspers (2-10, 2-2 MAAC) ended their three-match road trip with a 25-23, 25-20, 25-21 loss to three-time defending MAAC champion Siena (5-8, 3-1 MAAC) at UHY Court at the Alumni Recreation Center.

Manhattan got off to a good start in the first set.  After Siena took a 4-3 lead, the Lady Jaspers went on a 15-5 run to build an 18-9 advantage.  Siena slowly chipped away and forced Manhattan head coach Jolie Ward to take a timeout after her team's lead was cut to 21-19.  The Saints won the next point out of the timeout to cut their deficit to one before a kill by Alyssa Getzel (Richmond, Va.) brought the Lady Jaspers' lead back to two at 22-20.  However, Siena rallied for the next four points to earn a set point.  Manhattan fought off the first set point on a kill by Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.), but the Saints won the next point to close out the set, 25-23.

It was Siena that took the early lead in the second set, as the Saints jumped out to a 6-1 margin.  This time it was Manhattan's turn to make a comeback, as the Lady Jaspers rallied to tie it at 12-12 on a block by Welsh and Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.).  The sides traded the next 14 points until the Saints built a two-point advantage at 21-19.  Manhattan made it 21-20 on a block by Welsh and Sherryta Stokes (Beltsville, Md.), but Siena scored the last four points of the set to secure a 25-20 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set was tight most of the way, as there were 10 ties and four lead changes in the stanza.  With the score knotted at 18-18, a 5-0 Siena rally brought the Saints within two points of winning the match.  Manhattan momentarily stopped the Saints' momentum on another Welsh kill, but Siena took the next point to get to match point.  The Lady Jaspers fought off Siena's first two opportunities before Burgandy McCurty slammed her 21^st kill of the match to give the Saints a 25-21 win that closed out the match, 3-0.

Stokes led the Lady Jaspers with 10 kills and seven digs.  No other Manhattan player had more than five kills, while Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) also tallied seven digs.  Katie Kerbstat (Saddle River, N.J.) added six digs for the Lady Jaspers and Welsh notched six blocks.  Getzel distributed 20 assists and Andrea Reiff (Hawthorne, N.Y.) recorded three service aces.  As a team, Manhattan hit .128 (30-18-94) in the match.

McCurty, the Preseason MAAC Player of the Year, slammed 21 kills and hit .531 (four errors, 32 attempts) for the Saints.  She added seven digs.  Kelly Hummel registered 10 kills and Amanda Begin tallied eight, as Siena had 42 kills to Manhattan's 30.  Kathi Kobiyashi recorded a match-high 12 digs, while Emily Kruglik notched five blocks.  April London dished out 33 assists for the Saints.  Siena hit .208 (42-20-106) as a team.