Jaspers Snap Skid With 3-1 Victory Over Saint Peter?s

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Manhattan College volleyball team entered Sunday afternoon's matchup having lost four straight.  Against Saint Peter's, the Jaspers made sure that streak wouldn't reach five.  Manhattan (9-8, 3-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) dominated the first set before hanging on for a 25-11, 22-25, 25-19, 25-23 triumph over the Peacocks (3-10, 1-4 MAAC) at the Yanitelli Center.

In the first set, Manhattan's offense was on full display.  The Jaspers smashed 12 kills in the opening frame and hit .417 (two errors, 24 attempts) as a team.  The score was tied at 4-4 early on when Claire Van Dyk (New Richmond, Wis.) pounded a kill to start a four-point rally.  Manhattan never looked back from there, extending its lead to 13-7 on a kill by Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii).  Leading 18-11, the Jaspers ended the set on a 7-0 spurt, and Manhattan finished off a 25-11 set win on a service ace by Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii).

Saint Peter's jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the second set before Manhattan responded with three straight points, pulling within 6-5 on a Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) kill.  After the Peacocks countered with five of the next seven points to push their lead to four, 11-7, the Jaspers went on an 8-4 run to tie the score at 15-15.  However, Saint Peter's won four of the next five points to regain a 19-16 advantage.  The Jaspers tied it again at 22-22, but the Peacocks claimed the next three points to capture the set, 25-22.  Both offenses were hot in the second set.  Manhattan hit .382 (17-4-34) in the frame, while Saint Peter's hit .353 (14-2-34).

The Peacocks led the third set 2-1 before a Van Dyk kill started a 13-3 rally that gave Manhattan a 14-5 cushion.  Saint Peter's fought back, though, using a 7-2 run to get within four at 16-12.  After the Peacocks trimmed their deficit to two at 20-18, McGuinness pounded a kill to start a 4-0 spurt that brought Manhattan to set point.  She then slammed another one to seal a 25-19 set win and give the Jaspers a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Jaspers never trailed in the fourth set, scoring the first five points of the stanza.  Saint Peter's got within one at 12-11 before a McGuinness kill started a 4-1 run that put the Jaspers in front 16-12.  The Peacocks refused to go away, though, responding with a 7-3 spurt to force a 19-19 deadlock.  After Manhattan rallied for the next four points to go up 23-19, Saint Peter's countered with a 4-0 run of its own to tie it again at 23-23.  McGuinness then slammed a kill to bring Manhattan to match point, and the Jaspers finished off the victory on a block by Van Dyk and Marissa Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii).  Manhattan won the fourth set 25-23 to wrap up a 3-1 victory and end its losing streak.

As a team, the Jaspers hit a solid .284 (54-16-134) in the match.  McGuinness led the way with 18 kills on .304 hitting, and she added 14 digs.  Van Dyk, meanwhile, smashed 12 kills and committed just one error, hitting .440.  Van Dyk also tallied seven digs and three blocks.  Volovski finished with nine kills and three blocks, while Anna Kitlar (Kiel, Germany) notched seven kills and four blocks.  Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.) handed out 25 assists and Jade Gray (Boise, Idaho) distributed 12 assists.  Yamashiro recorded 11 digs and three aces in the victory.  Manhattan outdug Saint Peter's 55-54 and held a 7-1 advantage in blocks.

Amanda Colombo had a double-double for the Peacocks, notching 12 kills and 13 digs.  Dayana Arrufat added 11 kills, nine digs and three aces, while Kristina Baehr collected 36 assists and nine digs.  Kayla Howell returned a match-high 18 digs for Saint Peter's.  The Peacocks hit .100 (43-29-140) as a team.