Box Score
PHILADELPHIA ? The Jolie Ward era of Manhattan volleyball got underway on Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, the Lady Jaspers (0-1) came out on the short end of a 25-14, 25-23, 25-15 decision against Temple (1-0) at McGonigle Hall. Sherryta Stokes (Beltsville, Md.) led the Lady Jaspers with seven kills, and Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) posted a team-high 11 digs.
The Lady Jaspers took an early 4-2 lead in the first set, but Temple responded with a 5-0 run to go ahead 7-4. Leading 8-6, the Owls went on a 7-1 spurt to open up a 15-7 advantage. Temple never looked back from there, hitting .379 (13 kills, two errors, 29 attempts) in the set. The Owls closed out the set, 25-14, on a block by Ashley Carr and Anisa Whitney (starting this season, the NCAA has changed the term “game” to “set” and shortened sets from 30 points to 25).
Manhattan went on another early run in the second set, pulling ahead 5-2 when Temple was whistled for being out of rotation on Rita Welsh's (Collegeville, Pa.) serve. The Owls fought back to force a 7-7 tie, but the Lady Jaspers responded with a 6-1 run to pull back in front, 13-8. Temple slowly chipped away and used an 8-1 spurt to pull ahead for good. Trailing 24-20, Manhattan refused to give in, winning three straight points before Temple clinched the set, 25-23, on its fourth opportunity.
It was Temple that went on the early run to start the third set, as the Owls scored the first five points of the set. Manhattan pulled within two points on three occasions, but Temple's .310 (11-2-29) hitting was too much to overcome. After the Lady Jaspers closed to within 13-11, the Owls ended the set on a 12-4 spurt to close out a 25-15 win and clinch the match, 3-0.
Four different Lady Jaspers had at least 20 attack attempts. Strutner added five kills to go with her 11 digs, while Andrea Reiff (Hawthorne, N.Y.) and Welsh each posted four kills. Alyssa Getzel (Richmond, Va.) had 17 assists, nine digs and two blocks. Manhattan hit just .009 (25-24-110) as a team for the match.
Yun Yi Zhang had 12 kills and five digs for the Owls, while Carr tallied 10 kills on .429 hitting and added eight digs. Ariel Pierre registered a match-high 20 digs and Caitlin Loudon added 10. Whitney recorded five blocks for Temple. Jackie Morrison dished out a match-high 27 assists and chipped in four blocks. The Owls outblocked the Lady Jaspers 11-3 and outdug Manhattan 50-43. As a team, Temple hit .245 (35-12-94).
Manhattan is back in action on Saturday when the Lady Jaspers head to West Point for a 10 a.m. showdown with Army.
