Box Score
Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – In what was perhaps its most complete performance of the year, the Manhattan College volleyball dominated Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday night. The Jaspers (10-8) hit a combined .343 (46 kills, nine errors, 108 attempts) and tallied 11 blocks, as they cruised past the Knights (3-15) 25-21, 25-15, 25-11 at Draddy Gymnasium.
Anna Kitlar (Kiel, Germany) hit .500 in the match, recording seven kills without an error in 14 attempts. She also posted five blocks (including two solo stuffs) and three service aces. Marissa Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) contributed five blocks of her own, and she added seven kills on .400 hitting. Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) smashed a match-high 13 kills on .524 hitting, while Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) had 10 kills and hit .409. Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.), meanwhile, handed out 40 assists. Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) finished with a match-high 16 digs and Claire Van Dyk (New Richmond, Wis.) registered 10 digs, as the Jaspers outdug the Knights 49-42.
“It was consistent,” Head Coach Mark Jones said. “Our setting was consistent, and we found people in the right positions to put the ball away. And I think we were very aggressive on the swings and very smart. I'm very happy with that.”
The Jaspers set the tone early, scoring the first three points of the match and extending their advantage to 6-1 on a triple block by Volovski, Behrens and Van Dyk. After Manhattan's cushion reached eight points at 19-11, Fairleigh Dickinson went on a 4-1 run to pull within five, 20-15. However, the Jaspers reached set point when a Kitlar block made it 24-18, and Peric recorded a kill to finish off the frame, 25-21.
It was more of the same in the second set, as Manhattan jumped out to an 8-2 advantage. The Knights responded with a 7-3 spurt to trim their deficit to two, 11-9, before a Kitlar kill started a 4-0 Manhattan run that brought the lead back to six points, 15-9. Another Kitlar kill made it a 10-point margin at 23-13, and Peric was again credited with a kill on set point, as the Jaspers wrapped up a 25-15 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Manhattan earned 20 of its 25 second-set points on kills and hit .459 (three errors, 37 attempts) in the stanza.
After Fairleigh Dickinson won the first point of the third set, the Jaspers rallied off six straight, going up 6-1 on an ace by McGuinness. The Knights got back within two at 9-7 before a Van Dyk block started a 15-4 Manhattan run to end the match. Kitlar had three consecutive aces as part of a 7-0 run, and Yamashiro served aces on the final two points of the match. Manhattan had seven aces in the match, six of which came in the third set. The Jaspers also hit .421 (9-1-19) in the 25-11 third set victory that completed the sweep.
“I think we did a lot of good things tonight,” Jones said. “Overall, this was one of our best matches for doing the little things well. The concentration of our blocking was definitely top-notch, and we did a great job serving.”
Fairleigh Dickinson was led by Carly O'Sullivan's 11 kills. Allison Butler collected 25 assists and nine digs, while Corey Lostetter paced the Knights with 10 digs. As a team, Fairleigh Dickinson hit .069 (27-20-101) in the match.
Manhattan continues its three-match homestand this weekend with the first of six consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tilts. The Jaspers (3-3 MAAC) host Niagara (6-10, 2-3 MAAC) at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
