Daytona Beach, FL — Manhattan could not figure out either Bethune-Cookman nor Stetson on Friday. The Jaspers lost to BCU 3-1 before falling to Stetson 3-0 to conclude opening day at the Bash at the Beach.
Game 1
BCU won 3-1 (16-25, 25-19, 17-25, 19-25)
Manhattan took an 8-3 lead in the opening following a kill from senior outside hitter Maike
Bertens
. However, BCU rattled off 11 of the next 14 points, using a kill from Ariel Simmons to take a 14-11 lead. The Jaspers
would get back into the set by cutting it to 21-15, but couldn't overcome a combination of unforced errors and a lack of blocking. BCU out blocked Manhattan 5-1 on their way to winning the opening set 16-25.
The Jaspers responded well in the second set behind the efforts of Bertens. The Jaspers took the set 25-19 behind 7 kills from Maike Bertens and 5 from sophomore outside hitter Mikalah Curran. Both outside hitters brought their flamethrowers out and constantly kept the Wildcats on their toes. Manhattan led the second set by as much as 12 points, and fittingly, Bertens clinched the set with a kill.
In the third set, BCU settled in nicely by scoring 5 of 6 points to make the score 19-13 in their favor. On their way to losing the set 17-25, Manhattan made 12 errors which came back to bite in a big way. Overall, Manhattan committed 30 errors versus BCU, including a couple of costly service errors.
The fourth set was the most tightly contested set of the game despite Manhattan not holding a lead. Manhattan rattled off 5 kills in 6 points to draw to within one at 13-14. Then, after 3 consecutive points from BCU to go up 13-17, Manhattan mustered 4 straight points to the game at 17 as part of the larger 9-4 Jaspers' run. However, the Wildcats would come through with 6 of the next 7 points to pull away for a 25-19 win in the closing set.
Bertens and Curran recorded 17 kills apiece while Laila Glover supplied 9 more. Sophomore setter Sarah Emmons delivered 35 assists in what was a strong debut performance for the sophomore. Manhattan was out blocked 14-2 for the game.
Game 2
Stetson won 3-0 (18-25, 18-25, 11-25)
Manhattan couldn't keep pace with Stetson in a game where the Jaspers
were without Mikalah Curran, who was rested out of precaution after coming back from injury. Bertens
once again led Manhattan, tallying 13 kills and 7 digs. Junior setter Jessie Jerome had a breakout performance recording 20 assists in her second game as a Jasper. The large difference in blocks and errors—out
blocked 12-4 and having 17 more errors than Stetson—proved
to be too much to overcome for Manhattan.
Next Time Out
Manhattan will conclude their trip to Daytona with a meeting against Portland on Saturday. The game will be streamed live on Youtube at 11:30 am.
Portland is a member of the West Coast Conference (WCC).
