Jaspers Win Third Straight, Knock Off Saint Peter?s

Box Score 

2012 Manhattan Volleyball Yearbook

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - The Manhattan College volleyball team made the short trip to Saint Peter's for a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) match on Saturday afternoon.  The Peacocks (1-22, 0-9 MAAC) gave the Jaspers a challenge, winning the third set, before Manhattan (12-10, 7-4 MAAC) ultimately prevailed, 25-19, 25-19, 24-26, 25-14, at the Yanitelli Center.  It was Manhattan's third straight victory, and the Jaspers moved to two wins above .500 for the first time this season.

Manhattan scored five of the first six points of the match, but Saint Peter's responded with a 7-1 run of its own to take an 8-6 lead.  With the Peacocks in front 14-11, Juliana Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) slammed a kill, then Kelsey Huntoon (Monroe, Mich.) served back-to-back aces to tie the score.  After the Jaspers opened up a 16-14 advantage on a kill by Alexa Lampasona (Remsenburg, N.Y.), the Peacocks again rallied to knot things up at 17-17.  It would be deadlocked again at 18-18 and 19-19 before Ellie Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) pounded a kill to start a set-ending 6-0 Manhattan run.  The Jaspers finished off the 25-19 set win on a Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) kill.

The teams traded points early in a second set that featured 12 ties.  A McGuinness kill broke a 13-13 stalemate, and Manhattan eventually opened up a 19-16 cushion on a block by Lampasona.  After a Wiekamp kill made it 21-17, Lampasona and Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) added kills of their own to extend the Jaspers' advantage to 23-18.  Saint Peter's scored the next point before Juliana Behrens pounded consecutive kills to wrap up the set for Manhattan, 25-19.

After six early ties in the third set, the Peacocks went on an 8-0 spurt to open up a 14-6 lead.  Manhattan responded by claiming seven of the next nine points, and the Jaspers pulled within 16-13 on a kill by Juliana Behrens.  Saint Peter's brought its lead back to five points at 21-16, but Manhattan continued to chip away, trimming the margin to two at 23-21 on another Juliana Behrens kill, but Saint Peter's won the next point to reach set point.  However, the Jaspers fought off three set points, eventually knotting the score at 24-24.  A block by Stephanie Mills gave the Peacocks their fourth set point opportunity, and this time Saint Peter's converted.  The Peacocks extended the match by taking the third set, 26-24.

Saint Peter's carried that momentum into the fourth set, opening up a 6-2 lead before the Jaspers rallied to take an 8-7 advantage.  The Peacocks went back in front 10-9, but Manhattan responded with nine of the next 10 points to go up seven, 18-11.  After back-to-back Saint Peter's points, Volovski pounded a kill to start a match-ending 7-1 spurt by the Jaspers.  As a team, Manhattan hit a stellar .579 (13 kills, two errors, 19 attempts) in the fourth set, and a kill by Mariana Furquim (Curitiba, Brazil) sealed the match-clinching 25-14 set win.

Juliana Behrens paced the Jaspers with 16 kills on .379 hitting.  She also tallied three blocks.  Volovski contributed 12 kills and hit .346, while McGuinness posted 11 kills and eight digs off the bench.  Lampasona hit .357 in the match, slamming six kills to go along with three blocks.  Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) had a double-double with 44 assists and 11 digs.  Huntoon finished with a match-high 17 digs, Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) recorded 16 digs and Wiekamp collected 10 digs, as Manhattan outdug Saint Peter's 71-56.  The Jaspers hit .237 (55 kills, 22 errors, 139 attempts) as a team.

Saint Peter's was led by Lauren Behrens, who posted 21 kills, 12 digs and three blocks.  Laura Reinhart also had a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs, while Kassi Wirth tallied eight kills and four blocks (including three solo stuffs).  Kristina Baehr handed out 40 assists to go along with seven digs, and Jenny Pliska recorded a team-high 16 digs.  The Peacocks outblocked Manhattan 9-5 and hit .139 (45-24-151) as a unit.