Box Score
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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - On Saturday afternoon, the Manhattan College volleyball team hosted its annual "Lee National Denim Day" match for breast cancer awareness at Draddy Gymnasium. With the team wearing pink jerseys in support of the cause, things started off well for the Jaspers, as Manhattan won the first set easily. However, Siena (5-12, 3-6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) rallied back over the next three sets to hand Manhattan (11-9, 4-4 MAAC) its first home loss of the season, 14-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-23.
The lead changed hands four times early in the first set. After Siena built a 9-7 advantage, the Jaspers got back-to-back kills from Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) and Alexa Lampasona (Remsenburg, N.Y.) to even the set at 9-9. With the score deadlocked at 10-10, the Jaspers went on a 5-0 run to take control. Siena got back within three at 15-12 before a Lampasona kill sparked a 9-1 rally that brought Manhattan to set point. The Jaspers hit an impressive .452 (16 kills, two errors, 31 attempts) in the first set, and sealed a 25-14 win with a kill by Mariana Furquim (Curitiba, Brazil).
In the second set, Siena used an early 6-1 run to turn a 4-4 tie into a 10-5 lead. Manhattan scored the next two points to make it 10-7 before the Saints responded with nine of the next 12 to open up a 19-10 advantage. A McGuinness kill brought the Jaspers back within seven at 19-12, but Siena immediately countered with a 5-1 spurt, and the Saints reached set point after consecutive service aces by Lesli Akeo. After hitting -.028 (6-7-36) in the first set, Siena hit an outstanding .500 (16-1-30) in the second, which it took by a 25-16 count to even the match.
The Jaspers came out of the 10-minute intermission on fire, quickly jumping out to a 5-1 lead in the third set and forcing a Siena timeout. Manhattan's advantage reached eight points at 11-3 on a kill by McGuinness, but the Saints slowly chipped away, scoring 15 of the next 20 points to even the score at 16-16. LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah) pounded a kill on the next point, then McGuinness added another to put the Jaspers in front 18-16. However, the Saints again countered. Siena won the next three points to take the lead, and the Saints reached set point at 24-21. A service error wiped out the first set point opportunity, then Havens slammed a kill before Siena wrapped up the set, 25-23.
Manhattan scored the first three points of the fourth set before Siena rallied to tie it at 4-4. With the score knotted at 8-8, Furquim posted back-to-back kills, then teamed with Havens for a pair of blocks to give the Jaspers a 12-8 advantage. After a kill by Brittany DeGagne (Penticton, B.C.) put Manhattan in front 19-14, Siena used its last timeout. The Saints came out of the timeout on fire, going on a 10-1 run to move within one point of victory. The Jaspers got a kill from McGuinness, then two from Furquim to fight off Siena's first three match point opportunities before the Saints converted the fourth. Siena took the fourth set 25-23 to seal the match. The cumulative score was just 89-87 in favor of the Saints, but Siena won three of the four sets to claim the victory.
Furquim had 16 kills and didn't commit an error in 33 attempts, hitting .485 in the match. She added a career-high 10 digs to complete a double-double and also notched five blocks. McGuinness also recorded a double-double with 17 kills and 18 digs, while Lamapsona tallied 12 kills. Havens posted seven blocks to go along with eight kills, and Hollegn Henderson (Long Beach, Calif.) just missed a double-double with 50 assists and nine digs. Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) contributed 15 digs, as the Jaspers outdug the Saints 72-57. Overall, Manhattan hit .277 (56-17-141) as a team.
Colleen Ahearn posted 14 kills on .414 hitting to pace the Saints. Taylor Akana had a double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs. She also tallied four aces, as Siena held a 12-1 edge in that category. Rachel Stoklosa finished with 11 kills, while Sarah Sivertson completed a double-double with 40 assists 10 digs. Akeo collected a match-high 20 digs to go along with three aces, and Arielle Smith also notched three aces. As a team, the Saints hit .190 (50-21-153) in the match.
The Jaspers host Marist (8-10, 5-3 MAAC) in a crucial showdown at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The teams entered the weekend tied for fourth place in the MAAC standings, but Marist now holds that position to itself after a 3-0 win at Saint Peter's on Saturday.
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