Box Score
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Manhattan College volleyball team is on a roll. The Lady Jaspers (4-5), who start Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play this weekend, wrapped up their preseason non-conference slate with a 26-24, 25-21, 16-25, 25-19 victory over Providence (4-9) at Mullaney Gymnasium on Tuesday night. The win was Manhattan's third straight and the Lady Jaspers' fourth in their last five matches.
The match started off tight, as there were 11 tie scores and six lead changes in the first set. With Providence leading 10-8, the Lady Jaspers went on a 4-0 run to open up a 12-10 advantage. The Friars scored the next two points to tie it before a 3-0 Manhattan rally gave the Lady Jaspers a 15-12 lead. After the Lady Jaspers pushed their advantage to 20-14, the Friars rallied for the next five points to make it 20-19. Providence continued its rally, reaching set point at 24-23 and prompting a Manhattan timeout. LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah) slammed a kill on each of the next two points to give the Lady Jaspers their first set point, and a kill by Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) capped off a 26-24 triumph.
The second set had a similar tone to the first, as it featured 10 ties and five lead changes. After Providence scored three straight points to take a 10-8 lead, a 6-0 Manhattan rally gave the Lady Jaspers a 14-10 advantage. The Friars fought back to tie the score at 18-18 before Manhattan went on a 3-0 run to go back in front, 21-18. A block by Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) and Maddie Heck (Corte Madera, Calif.) finished off a 25-21 Manhattan win that gave the Lady Jaspers a 2-0 lead in the match.
Providence came out on fire following the 10-minute intermission between the second and third sets, jumping out to a 10-4 edge. Manhattan pulled within three at 14-11, but Providence outscored the Lady Jaspers 11-5 to finish off the set, 25-16. The Friars hit .324 (14 kills, two errors, 37 attempts) in the third set.
In the fourth set, it was Manhattan that took the early advantage. The Lady Jaspers built leads of 5-2 and 9-4 before Providence was forced to call timeout. Manhattan extended its lead to 17-9 on a service ace by Kelsey Huntoon (Monroe, Mich.), but the Friars rallied for eight of the next 11 points to get back within three at 20-17. That's as close as Providence would get, however. The sides traded two-point rallies to push the Lady Jaspers within three points of victory, and Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) slammed a kill on match point to wrap up the fourth set, 25-19, and give Manhattan the win.
Havens led the Lady Jaspers with 14 kills on .333 hitting. She also registered six blocks. Strutner notched a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs and Rahey also tallied 11 kills. Alexa Lampasona (Remensburg, N.Y.) and Heck each added nine kills for the Lady Jaspers. Collareta recorded a double-double with 46 assists and 11 digs. Huntoon posted a career-high 18 digs, while Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) also had 18 digs and Aurore Kullak (Beloeil, Belgium) registered 12 digs, as the Lady Jaspers outdug the Friars 79-66. Manhattan hit .184 (56-26-163) as a team.
Lauren Hendel posted a match-high 17 kills on .361 hitting for Providence. Lauren Fletcher added 12 kills and six blocks for the Friars. Carly Morrison dished out 36 assists to go along with six kills, six digs and five blocks. Cassie Muzzonigro registered a match-high 23 digs, and Emily Morris tallied 14 digs. As a team, Providence hit .158 (47-22-158) in the match.
Manhattan (0-0 MAAC) visits Rider (1-8, 0-0 MAAC) to open MAAC play on Saturday at 2 p.m. On Sunday, the Lady Jaspers play their first home match of the season against Saint Peter's (4-6, 0-0 MAAC) at 2 p.m.
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