Box Score
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JERSEY CITY, N.J. - After a slow start, the Manhattan College volleyball team kept on rolling on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Jaspers (17-13, 10-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) dropped the first set before rallying for an 18-25, 25-21, 25-13, 29-27 victory over Saint Peter's (6-22, 2-15 MAAC) at the Yanitelli Center. The win was Manhattan's sixth in a row and guaranteed that the Lady Jaspers will be seeded no lower than fifth at next weekend's MAAC Championships. The Lady Jaspers have also clinched their first winning season since 2005.
Saint Peter's scored the first three points of the match, but Manhattan battled back to take a 6-5 lead on a kill by Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.). Saint Peter's won the next point to tie the score, and there would be five ties in the first set. The Peahens took the lead for good when a Stephanie Phillips kill made it 12-11. Manhattan trimmed its deficit to one several times, but was unable to tie the score. Saint Peter's ended the set on a 7-1 rally to take the frame, 25-18. The Peahens hit .333 (16 kills, two errors, 42 attempts) to Manhattan's .073 (11-8-41) in the first set.
In the second set, it was Manhattan that jumped out to the early 3-0 lead before Saint Peter's rallied back to tie the score. After the Peahens knotted it at 4-4, the Lady Jaspers went on a 6-0 run to open up a 10-4 advantage and force a Saint Peter's timeout. Saint Peter's got back within one at 17-16 before a Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) kill ignited a 6-2 Manhattan rally that gave the Lady Jaspers a 23-18 lead. The Peahens took the next three points to trim their deficit to two, 23-21, but a block by LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah) and Alexa Lampasona (Remensburg, N.Y.), followed by a Rahey kill gave Manhattan the set, 25-21.
Manhattan opened up another 3-0 lead in the third set, and the Lady Jaspers extended that advantage to 8-3 before the Peahens were forced to take a timeout. Manhattan pushed its lead to nine when a Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) service ace made it 15-6, and Saint Peter's called timeout again with Manhattan up 20-10. A Rahey kill finished off the set, 25-13, giving the Lady Jaspers a 2-1 lead in the match. Manhattan hit a solid .387 (14-2-31) in the third set, while Saint Peter's hit .000 (7-7-37).
Unlike the first three sets, the fourth set started off tight, with the teams exchanging two-point spurts until the score was knotted at 8-8. Rahey pounded a kill at 8-8 to spark a 5-1 Lady Jaspers run that opened up a 13-9 Manhattan advantage. However, Saint Peter's rallied back to tie it at 16-16, then the Peahens built a three-point lead of their own, 21-18. It was then Manhattan's turn to rally, as a 6-2 run, capped by a Strutner kill, brought the Lady Jaspers to match point at 24-23. Saint Peter's won the next two points to earn a set point, but a Lampasona kill evened the score once again at 25-25. The Peahens had two more set points at 26-25 and 27-26, but the Lady Jaspers responded to each with a kill from Rahey and a kill from Havens. Manhattan reached set point again at 28-27, and this time the Lady Jaspers finished off the set, 29-27, to secure the victory.
"We had a slow start today, but I think we put it together in the second and third sets," Head Coach Mark Jones said. "And we were able to hold our composure and take care of things in the fourth set. I'm proud of this team. We're playing our best volleyball of the year, and I'm confident it'll continue."
Rahey paced the Lady Jaspers with 19 kills. Strutner notched a double-double with 14 kills and 19 digs, while Lampasona recorded 12 kills on .333 hitting. Havens posted eight kills to go along with five blocks, and Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) registered 46 assists and three aces. Bies returned a match-high 28 digs and Kelsey Huntoon (Monroe, Mich.) added 13 digs, as the Lady Jaspers outdug the Peahens 84-57. Overall, Manhattan hit .218 (59-25-156) in the match.
Chloe Rost and Kassi Wirth led Saint Peter's with 10 kills apiece. Wirth also notched four blocks, as the Peahens outblocked the Lady Jaspers 10-7. Katie McFadden tallied a team-high 26 digs and Kim Mendoza added 10 digs for the Peahens. Shannon Doheny handed out 18 assists, and Corey Haynes dished out 15 assists to go along with seven kills, six digs and three blocks. The Peahens hit .186 (47-18-156) as a team.
The Lady Jaspers, who have now won six straight for the second time this season, conclude the regular season with a 1 p.m. matchup at Loyola (14-17, 8-9 MAAC) on Sunday. With a victory, Manhattan will set a school record for MAAC wins in a season.
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