Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? The Manhattan College volleyball team did what it needed to do on Saturday. Now the Lady Jaspers (11-16, 10-7 MAAC) head into their regular season finale knowing they still have a shot at reaching the MAAC Tournament. In her final home match, Sherryta Stokes (Beltsville, Md.) pounded her 1,000th career kill, as the Lady Jaspers knocked off Saint Peter's (13-18, 7-10 MAAC) 25-19, 25-11, 25-20 on Senior Day at Draddy Gymnasium.
After the teams traded the first 12 points of the match, the Lady Jaspers used an 8-2 run to take control of the first set. Senior Jackie Kapovich (Downers Grove, Ill.) slammed a kill to make it 13-8, prompting a Saint Peter's timeout. The Peahens won the next point, but a 4-1 Manhattan rally increased the Lady Jaspers' lead to 17-10. Saint Peter's rallied for three straight points to cut the lead to 17-13, but Manhattan hit an outstanding .424 (16 kills, two errors, 33 attacks) in the set and secured a 25-19 win on Jaci Rahey's (West Milford, N.J.) service ace.
The second set was all Manhattan. Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.) pounded kills on the first two points of the set and the Lady Jaspers never looked back. After the Peahens pulled within 8-7, the Lady Jaspers rallied for four straight points to run the lead back to five at 12-7. Saint Peter's scored the next two points to make it 12-9 before the Lady Jaspers ended the set on a 13-2 clip. Manhattan won five straight points with senior Alyssa Getzel (Richmond, Va.) serving, then closed out the set with six consecutive points on Diane Strutner's (San Jose, Calif.) serve. The Lady Jaspers closed out the 25-11 win on a block by Kapovich and Rahey.
There were four ties in the first 12 points of the third set, but the Lady Jaspers never trailed. A Welsh block put the Lady Jaspers in front to stay and ignited a 5-1 Manhattan run that made it 11-7. After consecutive Peahens points, a block by Welsh and Rahey, followed by a Stokes kill increased Manhattan's lead to 14-9. Saint Peter's pulled within three at 18-15 before a Kapovich block stopped the rally. Stokes pounded her 1,000th kill to put the Lady Jaspers up 23-20, then Manhattan head coach Jolie Ward called timeout so that she could be recognized. Two Saint Peter's attack errors followed, and Manhattan closed out its fifth consecutive victory with a 25-20 set win.
Stokes recorded a double-double in her final home match, finishing with a match-high 12 kills and 14 digs. Senior Andrea Reiff (Hawthorne, N.Y.) tallied eight kills and 12 digs, while Jackie Kapovich added five kills, four digs and three blocks. Senior Getzel dished out 34 assists to go along with three kills and eight digs. Strutner tallied a match-high 15 digs, as the Lady Jaspers out-dug the Peahens 63-47. Welsh posted six blocks, as Manhattan out-blocked Saint Peter's 9-2. As a team, Manhattan hit .234 (41-16-107) for the match.
No Saint Peter's player tallied more than seven kills, as the Peahens hit just .009 (24-23-111) as a team. Kate McFadden led the way with seven kills on .500 hitting and added six digs, while Stephanie Phillips recorded six kills and Kelly Blanchfield had five kills. Kim Mendoza led the Peahens with 13 digs and Caroline Garvey had seven digs to go along with 19 assists.
Manhattan visits MAAC regular season champion Fairfield (18-12, 15-2 MAAC) at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the regular season finale. Since Iona (18-11, 10-7 MAAC) beat Rider (9-18, 2-15 MAAC) on Saturday afternoon, the Lady Jaspers need a victory and a Gaels loss to Marist (14-15, 9-7 MAAC) in order to qualify for the postseason. Sunday's Iona-Marist match will take place simultaneously in New Rochelle. A “fan van” for all those who want to attend the match will be leaving from Draddy Gymnasium at 11 a.m.
