Riverdale, N.Y. (November 5, 2006)-Senior
Meghan Plunkett's last ever kill in Draddy Gym gave Manhattan Volleyball a 13-11 advantage in the fifth and deciding game of what would become 3-2 Lady Jasper victory (30-24, 30-18, 26-30, 22-30, 15-11) over Loyola College on Sunday afternoon at Draddy Gym. Plunkett finished the match with 12 kills and fellow senior co-captain
Whitney Judkins added ten kills to help Manhattan even its conference record at 8-8 on Senior Day.
After Plunkett's kill, sophomore defensive specialist
Danielle Barbieri connected on a service ace and freshman outside hitter Kandice Watson registered her 24th kill of the match to seal the victory. Watson led all players in kills and also added 13 digs for a double-double.
The Lady Jaspers cruised to victory in first two games with a combined .318 hitting percentage before committing 23 errors during games three and four. The Manhattan attack was able to regain its effectiveness in game five, hitting .333.
On a day that ultimately belonged to Plunkett and Judkins, junior
Ashley Watson shared some of the spotlight with her two senior teammates by surpassing a career milestone. Watson surpassed the 1,000-dig mark by leading all players with 27 digs. She now has 1,019 for her career and sits only three shy of tying Manhattan's single season record of 472 set by
Ashley Davis '05.
Plunkett and Judkins are already in Manhattan's single season record book for games played during Manhattan's 2003 MAAC Championship season. In a year that Manhattan would advance to the NCAA Tournament, Judkins played in a record 129 games, while Plunkett finished only one game off pace.
Before wrapping up MAAC play on the road next weekend, the Lady Jaspers will play a non-conference match at the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Wednesday, November 8.
