Lady Jaspers Survive Blue Devils In Five Sets

Box Score

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - In a match decided by a mere two total points, the Manhattan College volleyball team lost its 2009 season opener to Army in five sets on Tuesday night.  On Friday afternoon, the Lady Jaspers (1-1) notched their first win of the young season in similar fashion.  Manhattan came back from a two sets-to-one deficit to post a 25-22, 21-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-8 victory over host Central Connecticut State (0-1) at Detrick Gymnasium in the opening match of the CCSU Blue Devil Invitational.  With the victory, Mark Jones earned his first win as Manhattan's head coach.

Central Connecticut State jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first set before the Lady Jaspers stormed back to go in front 10-8.  With the score knotted at 11-11, Manhattan went on a 4-0 run to take control, but the Blue Devils responded and forced an 18-18 tie.  The sides traded three point rallies again before Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) slammed a kill to give Manhattan a 23-22 advantage and prompt a Central Connecticut State timeout.  Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) pounded a kill out of the timeout, and the Lady Jaspers finished off the set, 25-22, on their first opportunity.

It was Manhattan that jumped out to the early lead in the second set, going ahead 5-2 before the Blue Devils came back to force an 8-8 deadlock.  Central Connecticut State built a five-point cushion at 19-14 before four straight Manhattan points got the Lady Jaspers back within one at 19-18.  However, Central Connecticut State scored four of the next five points to regain a comfortable 23-19 advantage, and capped a 25-21 set win on a block by Emily Cochran.

The long scoring runs to begin sets continued in the third, as Manhattan scored the first five points of the stanza on Laura Bellotti's (Dix Hills, N.Y.) serve.  Once again, the opposing team responded, as the Blue Devils went on a 10-2 spurt to turn a 6-2 deficit into a 12-8 lead.  Then it was Manhattan's turn to go on a long scoring rally.  The Lady Jaspers used a 7-1 run to go ahead 20-17 before Central Connecticut State tied it at 20-20.  The Blue Devils continued their run following a Manhattan timeout, allowing just two points the remainder of the set and taking a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-22 set win.

Forced into a must-win situation in the fourth, Manhattan surrendered the first two points of the set.  After the Lady Jaspers rallied to pull in front 10-5, Manhattan controlled the remainder of the set.  Central Connecticut State pulled even at 19-19 before a Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.) kill ignited a 3-0 run that restored the Lady Jaspers' advantage.  Manhattan scored six of the final eight points to secure a 25-21 win that sent the match into a decisive fifth set.

The Lady Jaspers dominated the fifth set, not committing an error and hitting .471 (eight kills, 17 attempts) as a team in the set.  After Manhattan jumped out to a 4-1 lead, prompting a Central Connecticut State timeout, the Blue Devils came back to within 7-6.  Jones then called timeout to cool Central Connecticut State's momentum, and it worked, as Rahey pounded a kill out of the timeout.  Rahey's kill ignited a 6-0 rally that included three Jayne Timo (Holbrook, N.Y.) service aces and brought Manhattan within two points of winning the match.  A kill by Aurore Kullak (Beloeil, Belgium) gave the Lady Jaspers their first match point, then Bellotti and Maddie Heck (Corte Madera, Calif.) teamed up for a block to put an exclamation point on the victory.  Manhattan took the fifth set by a 15-8 count to seal a 3-2 comeback win.

Strutner led the way with 13 kills and 21 digs, and also added three blocks in the victory.  Kullak also had a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs, while Bellotti posted 42 assists and 14 digs.  Rahey added 12 kills, and Welsh notched eight kills and hit .333.  Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) tallied 20 digs, as the Lady Jaspers outdug the Blue Devils 87-83.  Heck registered eight blocks.  As a team, Manhattan hit .163 (52-24-172) in the match.

Jamie Baumert posted 16 kills and hit .343 for the Blue Devils.  She also notched nine blocks.  Sara DeLacey had 15 kills on .522 hitting, while Blaike King recorded a double-double with 15 kills and 14 digs.  Amanda Bayer dished out 30 assists to go along with 14 digs, and Danielle Gasser finished with 17 assists and 11 digs.  Kaitlin Petrella registered a match-high 24 digs for Central Connecticut State.  The Blue Devils hit .167 (62-31-186) as a unit in the match.