Jaspers Fall In Three at Siena

Box Score

2012 Manhattan Volleyball Yearbook 

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - One month ago, the Manhattan College volleyball team picked up what was perhaps its biggest victory of the season when it came back from two sets down to defeat Siena at Draddy Gymnasium.  In the rematch on Saturday afternoon, however, it was the Saints who came out on top, as Siena (16-10, 10-4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) posted a 25-12, 25-21, 25-22 victory over the Jaspers (13-13, 8-6 MAAC) at the Alumni Recreation Center.

Siena took control of the first set early, jumping out to a 9-2 advantage.  Manhattan scored the next three points to trim its deficit to 9-5, but the Saints responded with a 7-2 rally to increase the margin to 16-7.  Siena hit .350 (17 kills, three errors, 40 attempts) in the first set, which it won by a 25-12 count.

After the Saints built an early 5-1 cushion to start the second set, the Jaspers responded with a 7-2 run, taking an 8-7 lead on a kill by Mariana Furquim (Curitiba, Brazil).  With Manhattan in front 10-8, Siena went on an 8-3 spurt to regain the lead, 16-13.  The Jaspers again battled back, scoring four of the next five points and leveling the set at 17-17 after Furquim and Juliana Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) combined on back-to-back blocks.  However, the Saints rallied for five of the next six points to seize control, and Siena eventually took the set, 25-21.

The squads traded points early in the third set before the Jaspers used a 5-2 rally to turn a 5-5 deadlock into a 10-7 advantage.  Siena won five of the next seven points to go back in front, 13-12, before Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) and Behrens slammed kills to give Manhattan a 14-13 advantage.  The Saints claimed the next point to even the score at 14-14, and it would be deadlocked four more times before Siena went on a 5-1 spurt to open up a 24-20 lead.  Manhattan held off two match points, but Siena finished off the set, 25-22, to seal the victory.  It marked the first time this season that Manhattan was swept in a conference match.

Furquim led the Jaspers with 14 kills.  She finished just shy of a double-double, posting nine digs.  Volovski contributed nine kills on .320 hitting, while Behrens had seven kills and hit .316.  Behrens also tallied three blocks.  Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) recorded a double-double for the Jaspers, notching 29 assists and 11 digs.  Kelsey Huntoon (Monroe, Mich.) collected a team-high 26 digs and Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) added 11 digs, as the Jaspers outdug the Saints 68-64.  As a team, Manhattan hit .128 (36-19-133) in the match.

For Siena, Taylor Akana had 17 kills and committed just one error, hitting .372 in the victory.  She added 16 digs to complete a double-double.  Colleen Ahearn contributed nine kills on .353 hitting to go along with four blocks, and Jacqueline Skeen posted seven kills and six blocks.  Sarah Sivertson just missed a double-double, recording 38 assists and nine digs, while Lesli Akeo paced the Saints with 26 digs.  Siena hit .265 (46-10-136) as a team and held a 10-4 advantage in blocks.