Box Score
JERSEY CITY, N.J. - After going the distance with Rider in its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener on Saturday afternoon, the Manhattan College volleyball team found itself engaged in another five-set struggle on Sunday. Unfortunately, a different venue yielded a different result, as the Lady Jaspers (5-7, 1-1 MAAC) dropped a 24-26, 25-16, 25-20, 21-25, 15-9 decision to Saint Peter's (3-9, 1-1 MAAC) at the Yanitelli Center. The Saint Peter's victory gave each team a split on the first weekend of conference play.
The Peahens quickly took a 4-1 lead in the first set before Manhattan responded with the next four points and took a 5-4 lead on a service ace by Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.). Saint Peter's scored the next point to force a 5-5 tie, one of 15 deadlocks in the opening set. With the score knotted at 19-19, a kill by Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) ignited a 4-0 Manhattan run that gave the Lady Jaspers a 23-19 advantage. Manhattan reached set point on a kill by Kelsey Huntoon (Monroe, Mich.) that made the score 24-20, but the Peahens fought off four set points to force a 24-24 tie. After a Saint Peter's service error, Manhattan finally closed out the set, 26-24, on a block by Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.).
Manhattan scored the first point of the second set, but the Peahens immediately responded with a 5-1 run to seize control. After the Lady Jaspers reduced their deficit to three points at 11-8, Saint Peter's rallied for seven of the next eight points to run its lead back to nine, 18-9. The Lady Jaspers responded by taking four of the next six points to get back within seven at 20-13, but Saint Peter's evened the match with a 25-16 set win.
The Lady Jaspers built a 3-1 edge early in the third set before Saint Peter's responded with a 6-2 rally to pull in front, 7-5. Manhattan scored the next two points to tie it at 7-7, but Saint Peter's again responded, taking the next two points to regain a 9-7 lead. After the Peahens extended their advantage to 14-11, Manhattan rallied for three straight points to force a 14-14 tie. With the score knotted at 17-17, Saint Peter's scored three straight points to go back in front, 20-17. Manhattan scored the next two points, pulling within one on another Welsh ace, but Saint Peter's scored five of the final six points to claim the set, 25-20, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Knowing the fourth set was a must-win, Manhattan stormed out of the gate, scoring the first four points to force a Saint Peter's timeout. The Peahens came back within one at 5-4 before the Lady Jaspers responded with a 5-2 run and took a 10-6 lead on a Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) ace. Manhattan increased its advantage to 16-8 on a block by Maddie Heck (Corte Madera, Calif.) and Rahey. Saint Peter's climbed all the way back to within one at 22-21, but the Lady Jaspers took the final three points of the set and capped a 25-21 win on an ace by Welsh.
Saint Peter's scored the first three points of the fifth set and never trailed during the final frame. Manhattan charged back to tie the score at 5-5 and 6-6, but each time the Peahens went back in front. After Saint Peter's used a 4-0 rally to turn a 6-6 tie into a 10-6 advantage, the Lady Jaspers took the next point to pull back within three. That's as close as Manhattan would get, however, as Saint Peter's hit .435 (11 kills, one error, 23 attempts) in the fifth set to claim a 15-9 win and seal the victory.
Strutner notched her second straight double-double with 13 kills and 16 digs. Rahey also had 13 kills, while Laura Bellotti (Dix Hills, N.Y.) tallied a double-double with 28 assists and 15 digs. Playing libero for the first time in a Manhattan uniform, Aurore Kullak (Beloeil, Belgium) posted a match-high 28 digs. Jayne Timo (Holbrook, N.Y.) added 12 digs, as the Lady Jaspers outdug the Peahens 90-82. As a team, Manhattan hit .149 (48-23-168) in the match.
Kim Mendoza finished with a match-high 21 kills and added 11 digs for Saint Peter's. Stephanie Phillips tallied 14 kills and 14 digs, and Kassi Wirth had 11 kills to go along with six blocks. Shannon Doheny posted a double-double with 52 assists and 17 digs, and also recorded five kills on .444 hitting. Yomi Angulo returned 24 digs for the Peahens. Saint Peter's hit .230 (64-22-183) as a team.
For the first time this season, Manhattan doesn't have a midweek non-conference match to prepare for before resuming MAAC play next weekend. Instead, the Lady Jaspers have five days off before hosting Niagara (8-5, 1-1 MAAC) and Canisius (4-8, 1-1 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium. The Purple Eagles visit Riverdale at 11 a.m. on Saturday, while Sunday's matchup with the Golden Griffins is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Both matches will be webstreamed live at www.gojaspers.com as a part of JasperVision.
To follow Manhattan Athletics on Twitter visit Twitter.com/GoJaspers and on Facebook.com search "Manhattan Jaspers."
