Box Score
HANOVER, N.H. – After notching a 3-0 win over Providence on Friday morning, the Manhattan College volleyball team returned to the court for a primetime matchup with host Dartmouth at the Big Green Invitational. The contest featured 26 ties and 14 lead changes, and Dartmouth won 98 total points to Manhattan's 97. Unfortunately, though, the Big Green (4-1) captured three sets by the minimum two points each to post a 25-23, 28-26, 20-25, 25-23 victory over the Jaspers (5-4) at Leede Arena.
The tone for the match was established immediately in the first set, as the sides traded the lead five times and the score was tied on nine occasions. Manhattan held an 11-8 advantage before Dartmouth rallied for four straight points to go up 12-11. After the Jaspers regained the lead 15-14, the Big Green went on an 8-1 run to pull ahead by a 22-16 count. The Jaspers stormed back within one at 24-23, but Dartmouth won the next point to claim the set, 25-23.
In the second set, Manhattan went on a 3-0 run to turn a 6-6 deadlock into a 9-6 advantage. After the Jaspers extended their cushion to 19-14, the Big Green went on a 9-4 rally to tie it at 23-23. A kill by Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) brought Manhattan to set point before Dartmouth's Paige Caridi responded with a kill to force a 24-24 deadlock. Another McGuinness kill gave the Jaspers another set point at 25-24, but Dartmouth won the next two points to achieve a set point of its own. Manhattan fought off that opportunity, although Dartmouth captured the next two points to steal the set, 28-26.
Dartmouth carried that momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 6-2 lead. However, Manhattan battled back. A kill by Anna Kitlar (Kiel, Germany) gave the Jaspers a 9-8 advantage, then Manhattan went on an 8-4 run to extend that cushion to 17-12. The Big Green responded with three straight points to get back within two, 17-15, but a McGuinness kill sparked another 6-2 Manhattan rally that put the Jaspers on the brink of winning the set. Manhattan hit a whopping .343 (15 kills, three errors, 35 attempts) in the frame, which it won by a 25-20 margin.
The fourth set saw extended rallies by both teams. Dartmouth took an early 9-4 lead, but Manhattan responded with a 9-2 spurt to go up 13-11. After the Big Green pulled in front 17-14, the Jaspers countered with a 5-1 run, regaining the lead on a kill by Juliana Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) that made it 19-18. Dartmouth then went on a 6-1 rally to move within one point of victory. Manhattan fought off three match points before the Big Green finished off the set, 25-23, to wrap up a 3-1 triumph.
McGuinness slammed 16 kills to lead four Jaspers in double-figures. Ellie Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) had a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs, while Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) also notched 12 kills and Behrens added 11 kills. Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.) registered 34 assists and added 14 digs to complete a double-double. Manhattan outdug Dartmouth 78-71, as Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) tallied a career-high 32 digs. As a team, the Jaspers hit .156 (57-30-173) in the match.
Elisa Scudder paced the Big Green with 11 kills on .364 hitting, and she also recorded five blocks. Caridi contributed 10 kills and 16 digs for a double-double, while Stacey Benton had a double-double of her own with 37 assists and 17 digs. Holly Harper collected 10 digs for Dartmouth. The Big Green (49-28-164) hit as a team and outblocked Manhattan 10-5. The Big Green also had seven service aces to Manhattan's one.
Manhattan concludes the tournament with a pair of contests on Saturday. The Jaspers take on Grand Canyon (2-5) at 12 p.m., then have a 5 p.m. matchup against Central Connecticut State (3-5).