RIVERDALE, N.Y. - On Thursday night, the Manhattan College volleyball team took a break from Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play, as Hofstra visited Draddy Gymnasium. The Lady Jaspers (7-17) took a set, but were ultimately overpowered by Hofstra hitting, as the Pride (10-17) posted a slammed 59 kills compared to just 35 for Manhattan en route to a 25-16, 21-25, 25-13, 25-19 victory. The loss was Manhattan's 13th in its last 16 matches.
Things started off well for Manhattan, as the Lady Jaspers took a 6-3 lead on a block by Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.) and Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) early in the first set. After a service error put the Lady Jaspers up 7-4, Hofstra rallied for 10 of the next 12 points to take a 14-9 advantage. With the Pride leading 19-15, a Carolyn Jenkins kill sparked a 5-0 Hofstra rally that brought the Pride to set point. Hofstra sealed a 25-16 win on a block by Francesca Garay and Taylor Moore.
The Lady Jaspers opened up another early lead in the second set, 4-2, before the Pride scored three straight points to go up 5-4. After Hofstra increased its lead to 12-9, a block by Welsh and Casey Tidwell (Redlands, Calif.) sparked a 7-1 Manhattan run that gave the Lady Jaspers a 16-13 lead. Hofstra got back within two at 19-17, but a Maddie Heck (Corte Madera, Calif.) kill ignited a 3-0 Manhattan rally that brought the Lady Jaspers' lead back to five points, 22-17. The Pride pulled back within two at 23-21, but Manhattan got back-to-back kills from Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) and Welsh to finish off a 25-21 set win that evened the match at a set apiece. After hitting -.032 (seven kills, eight errors, 31 attempts) in the first set, Manhattan hit .333 (14-3-33) in the second.
The third set was tight early, as Manhattan used a 4-1 run to turn a 6-3 deficit into a 7-7 deadlock. Hofstra took over from there, however. The Pride ended the set on an 18-6 run and opened up a 2-1 lead in the match with the 25-13 set win. Hofstra hit .452 (18-4-31) and Manhattan hit .000 (6-6-28) in the third set.
Hofstra opened up an 8-5 lead to begin the fourth set before Manhattan rallied to force a 9-9 tie. The Pride scored five of the next six points to go in front, 14-10, but Manhattan responded with three straight points to get back within one, 14-13. However, that's as close as the Lady Jaspers would get, as Hofstra won six of the next eight points to run its lead back to five points, 20-15. The Pride took the fourth set by a 25-19 margin to finish off a 3-1 match victory.
Strutner tallied a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs. Welsh added eight kills and seven blocks, while Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) registered a match-high 17 digs. Collareta dished out a team-leading 27 assists. As a team, the Lady Jaspers hit just .062 (35-27-128) in the match.
Monica Knight slammed a match-high 19 kills and added eight digs for the Pride. Anissa Whitney posted 13 kills, while Moore tallied 11 kills on .429 hitting to go along with seven blocks. Kylee Maneja brought back 16 digs, as the Pride outdug the Lady Jaspers 57-51. Hofstra also outblocked Manhattan 12-7. Chrissey Cruz distributed 49 assists and added eight digs and three blocks. Hofstra hit .231 (59-25-147) as a team.
Manhattan continues its five-match homestand with a pair of MAAC contests over the weekend. The Lady Jaspers (3-9 MAAC) host Marist (14-9, 8-4 MAAC) comes to Draddy Gymnasium for a 12 p.m. showdown on Saturday, while first-place Fairfield (14-10, 11-1 MAAC) visits Riverdale at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Both matches will be webcast live on JasperVision at www.gojaspers.com.
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