Manhattan University Athletics

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. – In its second match of the day, the Manhattan College volleyball team had its second dominant offensive performance of the day.  The Jaspers (6-1) hit a combined .408 (47 kills, seven errors, 98 attempts), as they cruised past St. Francis Brooklyn (2-6) 25-13, 25-11, 25-22 in the final match of the Terrier Invitational at the Geonvesi Center on Saturday afternoon.

Manhattan never trailed in the first set.  The Jaspers scored the first five points of the match and eventually extended their advantage to 8-2.  Manhattan used another 5-0 rally to turn a 10-5 lead into a 15-5 cushion, and the lead reached 11 points when Sydney Volovski's (Oswego, Ill.) kill made it 18-7.  Anna Kitlar (Kiel, Germany) slammed back-to-back kills to end the set, which the Jaspers won by a 25-13 margin.  Manhattan did not commit a hitting error in the first set, slamming 18 kills on 32 attempts for a scorching .562 hitting percentage.

The Jaspers were just as dominant in the second set.  After Manhattan built a 4-1 lead, St. Francis Brooklyn claimed three straight points to tie the score.  However, the Jaspers responded with an 8-0 run to open up a 12-4 advantage.  Manhattan added a pair of 4-0 rallies to make it 23-9, and the Jaspers took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-11 second-set win.

It was St. Francis Brooklyn that took the early lead in the third set, as the Terriers jumped out to a 4-2 advantage.  Manhattan tied it at 6-6 on a Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) kill, but St. Francis Brooklyn responded by claiming eight of the next 10 points to go in front 14-8.  The Jaspers scored five straight points to get back within one, 14-13, before the Terriers went on a 3-0 run to push the margin to four points, 17-13.

However, a Claire Van Dyk (New Richmond, Wis.) kill sparked a 6-1 Manhattan rally that put the Jaspers in front, 19-18.  The Terriers took the next two points to regain the lead, but another Van Dyk kill knotted the score at 20-20 before McGuinness smashed a kill to give the lead back to Manhattan, 21-20.  Another McGuinness kill brought the Jaspers to match point, and Manhattan closed out the straight sets victory with a 25-22 in the third.

Volovski, who had 20 kills against NJIT in Saturday's first match, recorded 12 kills on .476 hitting against St. Francis Brooklyn.  Kitlar also hit .476, smashing 10 kills without an error.  Marissa Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) didn't commit an error, either.  She finished with five kills and a hitting percentage of .625 for the match.  Van Dyk added 10 kills on .444 hitting to go along with six digs.  McGuinness ended up just shy of her third straight double-double with nine kills and 12 digs, while Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) collected a match-high 13 digs.  The Jaspers outdug the Terriers 50-40.  Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.) distributed 39 assists in the victory.

For St. Francis Brooklyn, Domenique Gerard led the way with eight kills.  She also registered six digs.  Jillian Tracy picked up a team-high seven digs, while Maggie Niu and Nicole Glaz tallied two service aces apiece.  Kelly O'Halloran handed out 15 assists and Alexa Caporuscio added seven assists for the Terriers, who hit .128 (26-14-94) as a team.