Jasper Sports Network (JSN) Recap: Manhattan 3, Stony Brook 1

Box Score | JSN Highlights | JSN Postmatch Interview (Mark Jones)

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Playing on the newly-redesigned court at Draddy Gymansium for the first time, the Manhattan College volleyball team (4-1) notched a 25-12, 25-19, 23-25, 27-25 victory over Stony Brook (1-3) in its home opener on Tuesday night.  As a team, Manhattan had 14 service aces in the victory.

Manhattan came out on fire, hitting a solid .320 (11 kills, three errors, 25 attempts) in the opening set.  The Jaspers jumped out to a 7-1 advantage and led 12-6 after a Milena Janjusevic (Belgrade, Serbia) ace.  Stony Brook scored the next three points to pull within 12-9, but Manhattan responded with a 12-2 rally to go up 24-11, and the Jaspers took the set by a 25-12 count.

After Stony Brook took an early 3-1 lead in the second set, Manhattan rattled off five straight points to go up 6-3.  The Jaspers extended their advantage to five points when Janjusevic's ace made it 11-6 before the Seawolves countered with a 5-1 run trim their deficit to one, 12-11.  However, Marissa Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) slammed a kill on the next point to start a 9-1 spurt that put Manhattan up nine, 21-12.  Stony Brook pulled within five at 22-17, but the Jaspers closed out a 25-19 set win on a block by Ivana Kostic (Grocka, Serbia) and Jade Gray (Boise, Idaho).

In the third set, Manhattan built an early 8-4 lead before Stony Brook responded with a 9-2 run to take a 13-10 advantage.  The Jaspers stormed back, though, moving within two points of victory on Claire Van Dyk's (New Richmond, Wis.) kill that made it 23-18.  However, the Seawolves ended the set on a 7-0 rally to claim a 25-23 win and pull within 2-1 in the match.

The Jaspers scored the first two points of the fourth set and, after Stony Brook tied it at 3-3, raced out to a 7-3 advantage on a Janjusevic kill.  The Seawolves knotted the score at 14-14, but Manhattan claimed the next three points to go up 17-14.  There were a total of 13 ties in the set, as neither side led by more than three the rest of the way.  Stony Brook reached set point at 24-23 before Janjusevic slammed a kill to tie it again.  After Manhattan earned its first match point on Gray kill, Taylor Wilson kept the Seawolves alive with a kill.  However, the Jaspers won the next point to regain the lead, 26-25, then took the next to finish off the set, 27-25, and a 3-1 match victory.

“We had a good effort, especially in the first two sets,” Head Coach Mark Jones said.  “We served really tough and got them out of system.  We struggled a little bit at end, but I'm glad we maintained our composure.  Overall, I'm happy with a win over a very good Stony Brook team.”

Janjusevic had seven of her match-high 14 kills in the fourth set.  She also hit at a .520 clip, committing only one attack error, and recorded 10 digs to complete a double-double.  Janjusevic added three aces and three blocks.  Van Dyk finished with 10 kills, while Behrens and Casey Monroe (Riverview, Fla.) tallied seven kills apiece.  Alyssa Rehrer (Lorton, Va.) contributed nine digs to go along with four aces, and Gray registered 33 assists, eight digs and three blocks.  As a team, Manhattan hit .244 (44-15-119) in the match.

For Stony Brook, Kathy Fletcher completed a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs.  McKyla Brooks added 11 kills on .391 hitting, while Morgan Kath notched 36 assists, 10 digs and six aces.  The Seawolves outdug the Jaspers 48-45 and hit .105 (45-31-133) as a team.