Box Score
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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan College volleyball team served up its fifth consecutive victory on Sunday afternoon. The Jaspers (8-5, 3-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) got a season-high 11 service aces, including four by Mariana Furquim (Curitiba, Brazil), to notch a 24-26, 25-21, 25-22, 25-23 triumph over Rider (4-12, 2-3 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium. With the win, Manhattan moved into a tie for first place in the MAAC.
"That (serving) is the reason why we won," Head Coach Mark Jones said. "Mari (Furquim) went back and had a lot of great serving, but overall, if you're not passing well, you've got to figure out a way to win somewhere else. And today we did it in the serving category."
The tightly-contested first set featured 11 ties and three lead changes. Rider took the first two-point advantage of the set at 10-8, but a kill by Alexa Lampasona (Remsenburg, N.Y.) started a Manhattan rally that would see the Jaspers tie the score at 12-12. With Manhattan leading 16-15, a Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) kill ignited a 6-1 Jaspers run that was capped by a Kelsey Huntoon (Monroe, Mich.) ace that made it 22-16. However, Rider stormed back, winning the next four points before a McGuinness kill extended the Jaspers' lead to three, 23-20. The Broncs claimed the next three points to force a 23-23 deadlock, but Manhattan reached set point on a Kayla Wong attack error. Rider tied it once again at 24-24, then got a set point of its own at 25-24. The Broncs closed out a come-from-behind 26-24 set win on a block by Rachel Jensen and Bridget Sheerin.
In the second set, Manhattan raced out to a 4-1 advantage before the Broncs tied it at 4-4. However, a LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah) kill on the next point put the Jaspers back in front. That kill sparked a 9-3 rally that gave Manhattan a 13-7 lead. Rider pulled within 13-10, but the Jaspers immediately countered with three points of their own to bring their advantage back to six points, 17-11. Rider kept it close, however, getting back within two at 21-19. Manhattan reached set point when a Huntoon ace made it 24-20, then Havens and Furquim combined on a block to finish off the 25-21 set win.
The Jaspers took control of the third set early. With the score knotted at 2-2, Havens pounded a kill to give Manhattan the lead. Furquim then stepped back to the service line, where she served 10 consecutive points. She had three aces during the 9-0 run that put the Jaspers in front by a 12-2 margin. Rider scored 10 of the next 14 points to trim its deficit to four, 16-12, but back-to-back Havens kills and a Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) ace pushed the lead back to eight, 20-12. The Broncs pulled within two again at 24-22 before McGuinness slammed a kill to cap the set, 25-22.
The back-and-forth pace of play continued in a fourth set that saw eight ties and four lead changes. Manhattan went in front 6-4 before Rider used a 7-1 spurt to take an 11-7 advantage. The Japers tied the score at 12-12, but the Broncs scored the next three points to regain the lead. However, Manhattan once again responded. A Rider service error and a Furquim kill sparked an 8-2 rally that put the Jaspers back in front, 20-17. The Broncs trimmed their deficit to two at 22-20 before a McGuinness kill and a block by Lampasona and Maddie Heck (Corte Madera, Calif.) brought Manhattan to match point. Rider fought off three match points to get back within one, 24-23, before Heck pounded her only kill of the match to end it. Manhattan took the fourth set 25-23 to move to 4-0 in Riverdale this season.
McGuinness notched her second straight double-double for the Jaspers, posting 17 kills and 17 digs. Havens finished with 16 kills on .481 hitting and added four blocks. Lampasona tallied 10 kills, while Furquim (Curitiba, Brazil) recorded nine kills, nine digs and three blocks to go along with her four aces. Hollegn Henderson (Long Beach, Calif.) distributed 48 assists to go with nine digs and three blocks. Bies collected a team-high 20 digs while also contributing three aces. Manhattan outdug Rider 77-69 and hit .250 (61 kills, 21 errors, 160 attempts) as a team.
For Rider, Wong led the way with 16 kills. Stephanie Nagy hit .433, registering 14 kills, and added four blocks. Jaclyn Webber had a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs, while Sheerin also recorded a double-double with 24 assists and 14 digs. She also tallied five blocks and two aces. Meghan Bartsch handed out 16 assists, and Shelbie Stannard posted a match-high 21 digs. As a team, the Broncs hit .217 (54-20-157) in the match.
"We're very happy where we are right now," Jones said. "We're definitely at the top of the conference now, with Niagara, so we're very happy about that."
Saturday's matchup with Niagara (9-7, 3-0 MAAC), Manhattan's first conference road match of the season, is a showdown between the only remaining undefeated teams in the MAAC. But first, the Jaspers conclude their five-match homestand with a non-conference tilt against Fairleigh Dickinson (9-4) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
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