Box Score
Box Score
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Manhattan College volleyball team began play at the Sacred Heart Invitational with a matchup against Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday night. After the teams split the first two sets, the Jaspers (4-1) rallied to notch a 25-17, 17-25, 25-20, 26-24 victory over the Hawks (0-4) at the Pitt Center. With the win, Manhattan moved to 4-1 for the first time since 2002.
Manhattan scored the first two points of the match and led the first set the entire way. With the Jaspers leading 7-6, Ellie Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) slammed a kill to start a 6-0 rally that extended the cushion to seven points at 13-6. Manhattan increased the margin to nine points when Sarah Haselhorst's (Naperville, Ill.) service ace made the score 21-12. The Hawks pulled within six points at 23-17 before Manhattan closed out the set, 25-17.
The Jaspers opened the second set by claiming the first three points. However, Maryland Eastern Shore responded with a 5-0 rally to go in front. Manhattan battled back to knot things at 13-13 on a kill by Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.), but the Hawks scored seven of the next nine points to regain the lead, 20-15. Maryland Eastern Shore took the set by a 25-17 count to even the match at 1-1.
In the third set, Manhattan took an early 4-2 lead on back-to-back aces by Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii). After the Jaspers increased the margin to 7-4, Maryland Eastern Shore battled all the way back to force a 13-13 deadlock. However, Volovski was credited with a kill on the next point, starting a 5-0 run that put Manhattan back in front, 18-13. Manhattan reached set point on a kill by Erin Weis (Omaha, Neb.) that made it 24-19, and a Volovski kill clinched a 25-20 set win.
The fourth set featured eight ties and four lead changes. The Jaspers quickly jumped out to a 5-1 advantage before the Hawks rallied to even the score at 7-7. After Manhattan scored the next two points to go up 9-7, Maryland Eastern Shore went on a 9-1 rally to open up a six-point cushion, 16-10. The Hawks were still leading 19-14 when Anna Kitlar (Kiel, Germany) slammed a kill to spark a 5-0 rally that tied it at 19-19. It would be tied again at 20-20, 21-21, 22-22 and 23-23 before Maryland Eastern Shore earned the first set point opportunity. However, a service error, followed by a block by Weis and Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) brought the Jaspers to their first match point at 25-24. Manhattan only needed that one chance, as Volovski pounded a kill to finish off the set, 26-24, and wrap up a 3-1 victory.
Volovski paced the Jaspers with 12 kills on .333 hitting. Kitlar added nine kills, while Wiekamp had six kills to go along with 12 digs. Jade Gray (Boise, Idaho) handed out 21 assists and eight digs, and Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.) finished with 14 assists. Yamashiro notched 18 digs and three of Manhattan's nine aces. As a team, Manhattan hit .152 (40 kills, 19 errors, 138 attempts) in the match.
Petra Jerabkova finished one dig shy of a triple-double for the Hawks. She posted 15 kills, 21 assists and nine digs. Ashley Smith also had a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs, while Sonia Rosales distributed 25 assists and served a pair of aces. Jingqiao Li recorded a match-high 28 digs, as Maryland Eastern Shore outdug Manhattan 74-66. The Hawks hit .157 (54-28-166) as a team.
The Jaspers conclude the tournament with a pair of matches on Saturday. Manhattan takes on American (4-0) at 10 a.m., then faces host Sacred Heart (2-2) at 5 p.m.
