Box Score
Box Score
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – In perhaps its biggest match of the season so far, the Manhattan College volleyball team came to play. And the reward was arguably its biggest win of the year. Behind 19 kills from Milena Janjusevic (Belgrade, Serbia) and 14 kills from Claire Van Dyk (New Richmond, Wis.) the Jaspers (15-11, 9-4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) posted a 25-21, 26-24, 18-25, 25-21 victory over Rider (14-13, 9-4 MAAC) at Alumni Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Jaspers moved into a tie with the Broncs for second place in the MAAC standings. More importantly, Manhattan secured the tiebreaker should the two teams finish deadlocked.
Manhattan set the tone immediately, smashing 18 kills and hitting .350 (four errors, 40 attempts) in the opening set. After the sides traded points early on, a Janjusevic kill sparked a 7-2 run that gave the Jaspers a 19-15 lead. Rider pulled within one at 21-20 before Janjusevic smashed back-to-back kills to push Manhattan's advantage back to three points, 23-20. A Jade Gray (Boise, Idaho) kill brought the Jaspers to set point at 24-21, then Van Dyk and Ivana Kostic (Grocka, Serbia) teamed up for a block to finish off the frame, 25-21.
There were 11 ties and five lead changes early in the second set. After Rider opened up a 16-13 advantage, Manhattan went on a 10-3 run to make it 23-19. The Broncs responded with three straight points to get back within one, 23-22, before Van Dyk put away a kill to give the Jaspers a set point opportunity. Rider pulled even at 24-24, but Manhattan earned another set point on a kill by Olyvia Chaltas (Temecula, Calif.). This time the Jaspers converted, as Manhattan took the set by a 26-24 count to go up 2-0 in the match.
Rider took control of the third set early on, jumping out to a 5-1 advantage. After Manhattan pulled within one at 7-6, the Broncs went on a 5-0 rally to go up 12-6. The Broncs reached set point at 24-15, but the Jaspers fought off three chances before Rider eventually closed out a 25-18 win that cut Manhattan's match lead to 2-1.
The Broncs then raced out to a 4-2 lead in the fourth set before Manhattan responded with an 8-4 spurt to pull ahead 10-8. With the score knotted at 15-15 (the eighth tie of the period), the Jaspers rallied for three straight points to build an 18-15 cushion they would not relinquish. Manhattan got to match point at 24-21, and one opportunity to close it out was all that was needed, as Gray was credited with a kill to cap a 25-21 set win that clinched the match, 3-1.
“That was, without a doubt, our best performance of the year,” Head Coach Mark Jones said. “We knew we needed a win tonight, and we went out and got it. I'm very pleased with our effort. If we continue to play like that, we're in really good shape moving forward.”
Janjusevic tallied 14 digs and three service aces to go along with her 19 kills, while Van Dyk notched 17 digs to complete a double-double of her own. Gray also had a double-double with 49 assists and 11 digs. Kostic, meanwhile, hit .474 in the victory, smashing nine kills without an error in 19 attempts. Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) and Alyssa Rehrer (Lorton, Va.) each contributed 20 digs, as Manhattan outdug Rider, the national leader in that category, 95-83. As a team, the Jaspers hit .205 (55-19-176) in the match.
Ryan Ackermann paced the Broncs with 18 kills and 19 digs. Kaitlyn Griffin tallied 12 kills on .379 hitting, while Jennifer Borio posted 10 kills. Veronica Koval handed out 25 assists to go along with 11 digs, and Brandie Hill also had a double-double with 22 assists and 11 digs. Emma Aldaya returned 15 digs for Rider, which hit .183 (57-22-191) as a team.
After playing four straight on the road, the Jaspers return home on Saturday for a 1 p.m. showdown with first-place Siena (14-8, 10-2 MAAC). The Saints beat the Jaspers in four sets on Sept. 20 and have won each of the last four matchups between the squads.
