Manhattan MAAC Tournament Notes
MAAC Tournament Central
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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - After sweeping a pair of matches at Saint Peter's and Loyola last weekend, the Manhattan College volleyball team takes its seven-match winning streak to Orlando, Fla., for the 2010 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships. The Lady Jaspers (18-13, 11-7 MAAC) earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament and will take on fifth-seeded Fairfield (11-19, 10-8 MAAC) in the quarterfinals at 2 p.m. on Thursday.
Manhattan tied Canisius for third place in the final standings, but is seeded fourth because the Griffs won both regular season meetings. The Lady Jaspers split the regular season series with Fairfield, snapping an 11-match losing streak against the Stags with a 3-0 victory at Draddy Gymnasium on Nov. 7. Manhattan's 11 MAAC wins this season are the most in program history.
Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) finished the only regular season as the only player in the conference ranked among the top 10 in the MAAC in both kills and digs. She leads the squad with 3.47 kills per set and ranks second with 3.25 digs per set. With 38 kills this weekend, Strutner will become just the fourth player in program history with 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) leads the Lady Jaspers with 4.49 digs per set, and her 530 digs this season represent the third-highest single-season total in program history. Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) hands out 9.45 assists per set, while LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah) paces Manhattan in both hitting percentage (.268) and blocks (0.81 per set).
Fairfield saw its streak of six consecutive MAAC regular season titles snapped this season, and the Stags have won just once in their last six matches. Brianna Dixion averages a team-leading 2.56 kills per set, while Haililani Pokipala ranks second on the squad in both kills (2.40 kps) and digs (2.45 dps). Kara Reis is the team leader in digs, averaging 3.15 per set. Rachel Romansky distributes 8.99 assists per set, and Haley Moyer averages 0.56 blocks per set to pace the Stags.
All 10 MAAC squads will participate in the tournament, and each school is guaranteed at least two matches. Thursday's Manhattan-Fairfield winner advances to the semifinals at 5 p.m. on Friday, while the loser will play in the consolation round at 2 p.m. Both semifinal matches, as well as Saturday afternoon's MAAC Championship match will be webstreamed live on ESPN3.com.
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