Box Score
Box Score
HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Manhattan College volleyball team concluded non-conference play with a visit to Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday night. Playing their only true road contest in a nine-match span, the Jaspers (15-9) posted an impressive 25-19, 25-14, 25-21 victory over the Knights (1-20) at Stratis Arena.
The first set started off tight before the Jaspers used a 4-0 run to turn an 8-7 deficit into an 11-8 advantage. Fairleigh Dickinson rallied to tie the score at 11-11, but Manhattan responded by scoring five of the next seven points, regaining a 16-13 lead on a block by Anna Kitlar (Kiel, Germany) and Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii). After the Knights claimed the next two points to pull within one, 16-15, the Jaspers ended the set on a 9-4 rally, and Manhattan captured the opening frame by a 25-19 count.
In the second set, Manhattan jumped out to a 6-1 advantage and never looked back. The Jaspers went up 12-4 on a block by Juliana Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.), then extended their lead to 18-7 on an Alexis Crist (Mesa, Ariz.) service ace. Fairleigh Dickinson put together a mini-rally late in the set before Ellie Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) smashed a kill to wrap up a 25-14 win.
There were 12 ties and five lead changes in a back-and-forth third set. Manhattan built the first significant advantage when the Jaspers used a 4-0 spurt to turn a 13-13 deadlock into a 17-13 lead, but the Knights immediately countered with a 6-1 run to pull ahead 19-18. After the Jaspers won the next point to tie the score, Kitlar smashed three consecutive kills to put Manhattan back in front for good. The Jaspers reached match point when Sydney Volovski's (Oswego, Ill.) kill made it 24-21, then finished things off on a block by Kitlar and McGuinness. Manhattan won the third set 25-21 to complete a 3-0 sweep.
Kitlar paced the Jaspers with 10 kills on .533 hitting. She also recorded six blocks. McGuinness added nine kills and nine digs, while Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) tallied a team-high 13 digs. Peric finished with 21 assists and seven digs. The Jaspers hit .165 (38 kills, 20 errors, 109 attempts) as a team and outdug the Knights 45-41.
Alyssa McIvor registered 10 kills to lead the Knights. Taylor Roland-Bouhl handed out 24 assists, while Deborah Hong collected a match-high 16 digs. As a team, Fairleigh Dickinson hit .045 (28-23-110) in the match.
Manhattan, which is currently in second place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), resumes conference play on Saturday with its most important contest of the season. The Jaspers (8-2 MAAC) will take on first-place Siena (10-11, 9-2 MAAC) at 1:30 p.m. at the College of Mount St. Vincent's Sharp Center.
