Box Score
BRONX, N.Y. - The Manhattan College volleyball team got an early wake-up call on Saturday, but if they were at all tired after playing twice on Friday, the Lady Jaspers certainly didn't show it. Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.) registered a career-high 11 blocks and added nine kills to lead Manhattan (4-4) to a 25-18, 25-16, 25-18 sweep of Sacred Heart (5-4) in the Rose Hill Classic at Rose Hill Gym. The win, Manhattan's second straight 3-0 victory, was the Lady Jaspers' third in their last four matches.
After Sacred Heart jumped out to a 4-2 lead to start the match, the Lady Jaspers went on a 10-3 run to establish a 12-7 advantage. The Pioneers clawed within three at 15-12, but Manhattan responded with a 7-3 run to extend its lead back to seven points at 22-15. A kill by Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) brought the Lady Jaspers to set point, then Rahey slammed another kill of the Sacred Heart block to cap a 25-18 win. Manhattan hit a scorching .448 (15 kills, two errors, 29 attempts) in the first set.
The Lady Jaspers continued their hot hitting early in the second set, jumping out to a 12-4 lead. Sacred Heart rallied back to make it 13-9 before consecutive Rahey kills reestablished Manhattan's six-point edge, 15-9. The Pioneers chipped away again, pulling within 16-12 before a 4-0 Manhattan run gave the Lady Jaspers a comfortable eight-point advantage, 20-12. A block by Welsh and Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) increased Manhattan's lead to 23-14, and the Lady Jaspers clinched a 25-16 set win on a kill by Casey Tidwell (Redlands, Calif.).
Sacred Heart took control early in the third set, establishing an 8-4 lead and prompting a Manhattan timeout. The Lady Jaspers got back within one when a block by Collareta and Maddie Heck (Corte Madera, Calif.) cut the Pioneers' lead to 9-8, but Sacred Heart rallied for the next three points to stretch its lead back to four, 12-8. Manhattan responded with a 4-0 rally to tie it at 12-12, but the Pioneers again regained the lead on the next point. The Lady Jaspers finally took the lead when a block by Welsh and Collareta sparked a 6-0 run that gave Manhattan a 21-16 advantage. Manhattan got to match point on a Welsh kill, and finished things off on its first opportunity. The Lady Jaspers took the third set by a 25-18 count to clinch a 3-0 match victory.
Rahey pounded a match-high 12 kills and hit .455 (two errors, 22 attempts). Welsh hit .300 in the match (three errors, 20 attempts), as Manhattan hit .290 (40-11-100) as a team. Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) recorded eight kills and three blocks to go along with a match-high 13 digs. Seeing her first extended action at setter, Collareta distributed 29 assists to go along with three blocks, three digs and two kills. Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) tallied 12 digs and Aurore Kullak (Beloeil, Belgium) registered 11 digs, as the Lady Jaspers outdug the Pioneers 52-40. Manhattan also outblocked Sacred Heart 12-3.
Johanna Ovsenek posted a team-high nine kills for Sacred Heart, and Brittany Best added eight kills. Jessica Colberg was the only Pioneer with double-digit digs, recording 13. Courtney Kidd-Kadlubeck dished out 25 assists to go along with eight digs and two blocks. As a team, the Pioneers hit .101 (33-21-119) in the match.
Manhattan concludes the Rose Hill Classic with a 4:30 p.m. tilt against Seton Hall (3-7). That match will likely decide second place in the tournament, as each team lost to Fordham (5-4), which is undefeated in the event, on Friday.
