Manhattan Drops 3-1 Decision at Loyola

Box Score 

BALTIMORE ? The Manhattan College volleyball team had a chance to do something on Sunday that it hasn't done all season?win back-to-back matches.  More importantly, the Lady Jaspers had a chance to even their Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference record with five of their six remaining MAAC matches at home.  Things started off well for Manhattan (6-15, 5-7 MAAC), as the Lady Jaspers won the first set, but Loyola (6-21, 2-10 MAAC) took control in the final two sets to post a 23-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-17 victory at Reitz Arena.

Manhattan opened up a 7-3 lead early in the first set, but Loyola fought back to tie the score at 9-9.  The Lady Jaspers scored four of the next five points to go up 13-10 before an 8-2 Loyola rally, including a 5-0 spurt, gave the Greyhounds an 18-15 edge.  The Lady Jaspers responded with a 5-2 run to tie it at 20-20.  After Loyola regained the lead, 21-20, Manhattan went on a four-point rally and earned its first set point on a block by Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.) and Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.).  The Lady Jaspers needed three opportunities before closing out the set, 25-23, on a kill by Welsh.

The second set was hotly contested early on, as it featured 10 ties and four lead changes.  Loyola took an early 5-2 lead before Manhattan battled back to take a 7-6 advantage.  Manhattan led 10-8 before a 3-0 Loyola run gave the Greyhounds a one-point lead.  With the set tied for the final time at 14-14, Loyola scored three straight points to build a 17-14 advantage.  The Lady Jaspers scored the next two points to pull within 17-16, but the Greyhounds responded with two points of their own to bring the lead back to three.  Manhattan got within one again at 21-20, but Loyola ended the set on a 4-0 run to claim a 25-20 win that evened the match. 

Loyola seized command of the match following the 10-minute intermission between the second and third sets.  The Lady Jaspers opened up an early 5-3 lead, but the Greyhounds responded with a 4-0 run to take a 7-5 advantage of their own.  After Manhattan came back to force a 7-7 tie, Loyola scored six of the next seven points to regain the lead, 13-8.  Manhattan was unable to pull any closer than four the remainder of the set, as the Greyhounds took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-15 win.  Loyola hit .359 (18 kills, four errors, 39 attempts) in the third set.

With the fourth set tied at 3-3 early, the Greyhounds went on a five-point run to go up 8-3.  Loyola extended its run to 9-2, increasing the Greyhounds' lead to 12-5.  Manhattan pulled within four at 17-13 before a 6-0 Loyola run, marked by consecutive service aces from Karlee Woodward, effectively put the match out of reach.  The Lady Jaspers scored the next three points to make it 23-13, but Loyola closed out the set, 25-17, to finish off a 3-1 victory.  The Greyhounds continued their solid offensive production in the second set, hitting .387 (15-3-31).  Manhattan's hitting was also effective in the set, as the Lady Jaspers hit .355 (14-3-31).

Sherryta Stokes (Beltsville, Md.), a Baltimore-area native, slammed a match-high 18 kills and added 10 digs for her fourth straight double-double.  Welsh tallied 11 kills, while Rahey and Andrea Reiff (Hawthorne, N.Y.) each had nine kills.  Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) led the Lady Jaspers with 11 digs.  Alyssa Getzel (Richmond, Va.) dished out 39 assists and contributed six digs.  The Lady Jaspers hit .246 (54-19-142) as a team in the match.

Four Greyhounds had at least 12 kills, led by 16 from Stasia Collins.  Christina Greenup added 15 kills, while Nina Camaioni tallied 13 and Woodward had 12.  Each of the four hit above .300, including an impressive .433 hitting performance by Collins.  As a team, Loyola hit .305 (65-19-151) for the match.  Camaioni finished with a match-high 24 digs and Brittany Born added 12, as the Greyhounds out-dug the Lady Jaspers 60-56.  Kristen Muscarella distributed 53 assists.