Siena Gets By Manhattan In Five Sets

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – In a key battle for positioning in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), the Manhattan College volleyball team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to force a fifth set at Siena on Saturday afternoon.  Unfortunately, however, the Jaspers (15-11, 8-5 MAAC) were unable to complete the comeback, as the Saints (11-14, 9-4 MAAC) notched a 25-20, 18-25, 25-13, 22-25, 15-3 victory at the Alumni Recreation Center.

There were eight ties and three lead changes in a tightly-contested first set.  Siena jumped out to an early 5-3 lead before a kill by Claire Van Dyk (New Richmond, Wisc.) started a 12-3 Manhattan run.  After back-to-back Mary Donnelly (Temecula, Calif.) service aces put the Jaspers up 15-8, the Saints responded with an 11-3 run to pull in front, 19-18.  A block by Jade Gray (Boise, Idaho) and Marissa Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) tied it at 20-20, but Siena scored the final five points of the set to claim a 25-20 win.

After a Van Dyk ace gave the Jaspers an 11-5 cushion in the second set, Siena scored four of the next five points to get within 12-9.  With Manhattan leading 15-11, Clare Bozzo (Salinas, Calif.) whacked a kill to start a 7-3 run that extended the margin to 22-14.  Manhattan reached set point at 24-17, and a kill by Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) finished off a 25-18 win for the Jaspers that evened the match at one set apiece.

Siena never trailed in the third set, racing out to a 10-2 advantage before finishing the frame on a 5-0 run that sealed a 25-13 win.  The Saints hit .452 (16 kills, two errors, 31 attempts) in the third set.

Needing to win the fourth set in order to extend the match, Manahttan used an 11-5 spurt to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 13-8 advantage.  After Siena rallied to tie the score at 18-18, a Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) kill started a 5-1 rally that put the Jaspers in front 23-19.  McGuinness smashed a kill to give Manhattan a set point opportunity at 24-20 before Van Dyk put away a kill to wrap up a 25-22 set win and set up a decisive stanza.

However, the Jaspers were unable to carry their momentum over into the fifth set.  Siena jumped out to a 9-0 lead before a McGuinness kill finally got Manhattan on the board.  There would be no comeback, though, as the Saints scored the next three points to extend their advantage to 12-1.  Siena ended up hitting an impressive .769 in the fifth set, smashing 10 kills without an error in 13 attempts to claim a 15-3 victory and clinch the match, 3-2.

Volovski led the Jaspers with 16 kills on .333 hitting.  McGuinness added 13 kills and eight digs, while Van Dyk tallied eight kills and 16 digs.  Gray finished with 36 assists and seven digs, and Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) contributed a match-high 25 digs.  As a team, the Jaspers hit .113 (48-29-168) in the match.

Meghann Wright slammed a match-high 19 kills and added 13 digs for the Saints.  Sonja Vasovic tallied 13 kills, while Samatha Pethokoukis hit .615, pounding nine kills compared to just one error in 13 attempts.  She also had five blocks and Jacqueline Skeen recorded six blocks, as Siena outblocked Manhattan 11-4.  Haley Howell, meanwhile, notched a double-double with 52 assists and 12 digs.  Bobbi Lin Kalama finished with 25 digs and Briana Flagg collected 11 digs, as the Saints outdug the Jaspers 78-72.  Siena hit .291 (64-16-165) as a team.