Manhattan-Radford Box Score
Manhattan-Hofstra Box Score
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The Manhattan College volleyball team opened its 2011 season on Saturday afternoon by splitting a pair of matches at Hofstra University's Asics Invitational. In the morning, the Jaspers overcame a 2-0 deficit to post a 22-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-9 victory over Radford (0-2). Manhattan (1-1) then fell 25-21, 25-23, 25-23 to the host Pride (2-0) in its second match of the day at the Mack Physical Education Center. For her play in the two matches, LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah) was selected to the All-Tournament Team.
Hurricane Irene caused the weekend's schedule to be adjusted, and, as a result, Manhattan's match against Radford was moved from Friday to Saturday.
After the teams traded early runs, Radford used a 6-2 spurt to open up a 12-6 advantage. The Jaspers chipped away at the lead, pulling within 19-17 before a pair of Radford points put the Highlanders back up by four, 21-17. However, a Maddie Heck (Corte Madera, Calif.) kill followed, igniting a 4-0 Manhattan rally that tied the score at 21-21. Radford won the next point to regain the lead, then finished off the set by a 25-22 count.
The sides traded the first six points of the second set before a 7-1 Radford run gave the Highlanders an early 10-4 advantage. Manhattan chipped away at the lead once again and pulled within one when Kelsey Huntoon's (Monroe, Mich.) service ace made it 17-16. However, Radford responded with a 5-0 run to open up a six-point edge, 22-16, and prompt a Manhattan timeout. The Highlanders closed out the set, 25-20, to take a 2-0 lead in the match. As a team, Radford hit an impressive .406 (14 kills, one error, 37 attempts) in the second set.
Manhattan came out of the 10-minute intermission on fire, scoring six of the first seven points in the third set. After the Jaspers pulled out to an 11-6 advantage, the Highlanders went on a 6-0 run to take a one-point lead, 12-11. Manhattan responded with a 5-0 rally of its own to go back in front 16-12, and a Havens kill extended that cushion to 19-13. The Jaspers reached set point on an Alexa Lampasona (Remsenburg, N.Y.) kill, then Mariana Furquim (Curitiba, Brazil) delivered an ace that sealed a 25-21 set win.
The Jaspers again took an early lead in the fourth set, jumping out to a 3-1 advantage. After an ace by Havens put Manhattan in front 6-4, Radford claimed 10 of the next 12 points to go ahead 14-8. However, a Lampasona kill on the next point started a 13-1 Manhattan run that gave the Jaspers a 22-15 lead. Manhattan reached set point on a kill by Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii), and another McGuinness kill finished off a 25-22 win that sent the match into a decisive frame.
Manhattan carried its momentum into the fifth set, scoring the first six points and never looking back. The Jaspers never trailed in the final set and capped their comeback victory in style, as Furquim and Heck combined on a block on match point. Manhattan won the fifth set by a 15-9 count.
After going more than seven seasons without coming back from two sets down to win, the Jaspers did it for the second time in less than a year. Manhattan pulled off the feat against Rider in last season's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament. It was also Manhattan's seventh consecutive five-set win dating back to 2010.
McGuinness was sensational in her Manhattan debut, tallying a double-double with 15 kills and 14 digs. Lampasona led the way with 17 kills, while Havens had 16 kills and hit .429 in the match. Furquim contributed 13 kills to go along with three aces. Hollegn Henderson (Long Beach, Calif.) distributed 56 assists, while Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) notched 26 digs, including the 1,000th of her career. Huntoon added 11 digs and three aces. As a team, Manhattan hit .210 (66-28-181) in the match.
Megan McWhorter had a double-double for Radford, posting 14 kills and 11 digs. She also contributed five blocks. Emily Carlin finished with 11 kills, while Carly Fleming had eight kills and six blocks. Christine Beckham tallied 23 assists and three aces to go along with six blocks, while Jena Braden distributed 19 assists. Rachel Brummitt recorded a match-high 37 digs to go along with three aces. Radford outdug Manhattan 70-68 and had a 12-5 blocking advantage. The Highlanders hit .204 (53-22-152) as a team.
The Manhattan-Hofstra match was also affected by the weather, as the start time, which was originally 7:30 p.m., was moved up to 5:30 p.m., then 3 p.m. The change didn't seem to phase the Jaspers, however, as Manhattan scored the first three points of the match. The Jaspers opened up a 6-2 lead before the Pride went on a 6-0 run to go ahead 8-6. Back-to-back Manhattan blocks capped a 5-1 rally that put the Jaspers back in front, 11-9, before Hofstra scored 10 of the next 14 points to take a 19-15 edge. Manhattan scored the next three points to get back within 19-18, but Hofstra held on to win the set by a 25-21 margin.
The second set began in a back-and-forth fashion before a 6-1 Manhattan spurt turned a 4-3 deficit into a 9-5 lead. After the Jaspers went up 15-10 on a Havens kill, Hofstra used a 7-2 run to tie the score at 17-17. Manhattan scored the next three points to go up 20-17, but Hofstra responded with a 7-2 spurt to reach set point, and the Pride took a 2-0 lead with a 25-23 second-set victory.
Manhattan led 5-4 early in the third set before Hofstra went on a 9-2 run to take control. The Jaspers gradually chipped away, getting back within one at 21-20, but three straight Hofstra points put the Pride in a position to win the match. Manhattan responded with three consecutive kills from McGuinness, Havens and Henderson, prompting a Hofstra timeout, before Nikki Kinnier finished off the set, 25-23, to give the Pride the straight-sets victory.
Havens finished with 10 kills and hit .444 against Hofstra, while McGuinness added 10 kills and eight digs. Henderson notched her first collegiate double-double in the match, posting 24 assists and 12 digs. Bies also tallied 12 digs and Heck contributed four blocks. Manhattan hit .125 (31-17-112) as a team in the match.
Tournament MVP Kinnier had a match-high 21 kills and eight digs for Hofstra. Kelise Wills tallied a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs, while Catalina Charry dished out a match-high 39 assists. Kylee Maneja returned a match-high 18 digs, as Hofstra outdug Manhattan 52-47. Overall, the Pride hit .181 (46-23-127) as a team.
The Jaspers are back in action next weekend, when they head to Lewisburg, Pa., for the Bucknell Tournament. Manhattan takes on Dartmouth (0-0) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, then faces local rival Fordham (1-0) and host Bucknell (0-0) on Saturday.
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