Manhattan Knocks Off St. Francis Brooklyn In Four Sets

EASTON, PA – The Manhattan College volleyball team earned its second consecutive win on Friday night.  The Jaspers (2-10) posted a 25-23, 25-16, 23-25, 25-20 triumph over St. Francis Brooklyn (3-10) at the Kirby Sports Center in the opening match of the Lafayette Invitational.

There were 15 ties and seven lead changes in a back-and-forth first set.  After the Terriers opened up a 16-11 advantage, Ivana Kostic (Grocka, Serbia) slammed a kill to start an 8-2 Manhattan run that put the Jaspers up 19-18.  St. Francis Brooklyn scored the next point to draw even, and it would be tied again at 20-20, 21-21, 22-22 and 23-23.  A Terriers hitting error then gave Manhattan a set point.  That was the only opportunity the Jaspers would need, as Sandra Lozanova (Pernik, Bulgaria) ripped a kill to seal a 25-23 win.

St. Francis Brooklyn took an early 3-2 lead in the second set before a Milena Janjusevic (Belgrade, Serbia) kill started an 11-4 rally that gave Manhattan a 13-7 advantage.  The Terriers pulled within four at 17-13, but Lozanova countered with a kill that sparked a 5-1 Jaspers rally that made it 22-14.  A Janjusevic kill brought Manhattan to set point, and Lozanova teamed with Marissa Behrens (Honolulu, HI) on a block that closed out a 25-16 triumph.

Manhattan jumped in front 3-1 in the third set, but St. Francis Brooklyn responded with an 8-4 run to go ahead 9-7.  After the Jaspers leveled the score at 9-9, the Terriers rattled off nine of the next 11 points to open up an 18-11 lead.  With St. Francis Brooklyn in front 24-19, Manhattan held off four set points to cut its deficit to one.  However, the Terriers claimed the next point to finish off a 25-23 win and set the match into a fourth set.

It was 7-5 St. Francis Brooklyn in the fourth set when Manhattan went on an 8-2 spurt to take a 13-9 lead.  After the Terriers got back within two at 14-12, Lozanova put home a kill to start a 7-2 run that increased the Jaspers' cushion to seven, 21-14.  Manhattan reached match point at 24-19, and the Jaspers wrapped up the 3-1 victory with a 25-20 set win.

Janjusevic had her second straight double-double with 17 kills and 11 digs.  She added four blocks and two service aces.  Zoe Lindsey (McHenry, IL) also posted a double-double for the second straight contest, finishing with 40 assists and 14 digs.  Lozanova contributed 11 kills, while Olyvia Chaltas (Temecula, CA) tallied 10 kills in the victory.  Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, HI) recorded a match-high 18 kills and Alyssa Rehrer (Lorton, VA) notched 13 digs, as the Jaspers outdug the Terriers 71-53.  Behrens, meanwhile, registered four blocks.  As a team, Manhattan hit .195 (55-26-149) in the match.

For St. Francis Brooklyn, Domenique Gerard and Aleksandra Gligoric led the way with 14 kills apiece.  Gerard added 12 digs to complete a double-double, wihle Gligoric also posted five blocks.  Sidney Benson had five blocks, as well.  Macy Kurtz handed out 22 assists, and Angela Hudelson distributed 18 assists to go along with seven digs.  Alexa Caporuscio notched 10 digs for the Terriers, who hit .151 (48-25-152) as a team.