Box Score
Box Score
TOWSON, Md. – Playing for the second time on the season's opening day, the Manhattan College volleyball team picked up its second victory. The Jaspers (2-0), who knocked off Saint Francis (PA) earlier in the day, topped Coppin State (0-1) 25-17, 25-18, 17-25, 26-24 in their second match of the Towson Invitational at SECU Arena.
The Manhattan offense took a little while to get going against Saint Francis (PA). Against Coppin State, that was no such problem. Twelve of the Jaspers' first 15 points came via kills, as Manhattan raced out to a 17-8 advantage. After three straight Milena Janjusevic (Belgrade, Serbia) kills made it 20-10, the Jaspers reached set point at 24-14. Fittingly, Marissa Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) ended the 25-17 victory with a kill, Manhattan's 16th of the set. The Jaspers hit a combined .382 (three errors, 34 attempts) in the frame.
In the second set, Coppin State scored the first two points before Manhattan seized control. The Jaspers went on a 5-0 rally, capped by a pair of Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) service aces, to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 7-4 advantage, and eventually extended their lead to 14-7 on a block by Behrens and Jade Gray (Boise, Idaho). The Eagles got within three at 17-14, but Manahttan countered with a 3-0 run of its own, as Claire Van Dyk's (New Richmond, Wis.) ace brought the margin back six at 20-14. Manhattan captured the set by a 25-18 count to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Coppin State opened the third set on a 5-0 run, but Manhattan responded with a 6-1 spurt to force a 6-6 deadlock. However, the Eagles countered with an 8-3 rally to open up a five-point, 14-9 lead. After Coppin State's advantage reached seven points at 19-12, the Jaspers scored four of the next five points to get within 20-16. Manhattan would get no closer, though, as Coppin State forced a fourth set with a 25-17 win.
There were seven ties in a competitive fourth set. Manhattan built an early 5-2 lead before Coppin State rallied to go up 15-8. The Jaspers rallied within two when a Van Dyk ace made it 16-14, and Manhattan eventually evened the score at 21-21. After the sides traded the next four points, the Jaspers reached match point at 24-23 on an Ivana Kostic (Grocka, Serbia) kill. Coppin State took the next point to once again force a deadlock at 24-24, but Janjusevic slammed a kill on the next point to again put Manhattan on the verge of victory. And this time the Jaspers converted, finishing off the set by a 26-24 count to wrap up a 3-1 match win.
Janjusevic was brilliant offensively for the Jaspers. She slammed 15 kills without an error, hitting an outstanding .429 in the victory. Janjusevic added 11 digs to complete a double-double. Gray also had a double-double with 39 assists and 11 digs. Yamashiro contributed 17 digs to go along with a career-high six aces, as Manhattan held an 11-6 edge in that department. Van Dyk, meanwhile, contributed 12 kills for the Jaspers, who hit .149 (44-23-141) as a team.
Cindy Okpegbue had a match-high 17 kills and Kendra Ireigbe added 12 kills and five blocks for the Eagles. Chelsee Saunee posted a double-double with 40 assists and 10 digs, and Marlena Guice just missed a double-double of her own, finishing with nine kills and 11 digs. Glorines Rosado tallied a match-high 20 digs, as Coppin State outdug Manhattan 64-59. As a team, the Eagles hit .135 (47-28-141) in the match.
Manhattan concludes the tournament with two more matches on Saturday. The Jaspers take on host Towson (0-1) at 12:15 p.m., then have a 4:45 p.m. matchup with Delaware State (0-2).
