Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? Jolie Ward earned her first win as Manhattan College volleyball coach on Sunday afternoon, and her team got it for her in dramatic style. The Lady Jaspers (1-8, 1-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) went the distance for the third time in four matches, but this time Manhattan was virtually flawless in the fifth set and posted a 20-25, 28-26, 25-18, 20-25, 15-10 triumph over Loyola (3-10, 0-2 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium. It was Manhattan's second straight five-set home win over Loyola. Jackie Kapovich (Downers Grove, Ill.) had her first career double-double for the Lady Jaspers, posting 13 kills and a career-high 13 digs.
Manhattan used an early 5-0 run to take a 7-4 lead in the first set, but the Greyhounds responded with a 4-1 run of their own to force an 8-8 tie. The teams remained tight for the rest of the set, as neither side was able to build a lead of more than two points. Leading 19-18, Loyola scored three of the next four points, forcing Ward to call timeout. Nicole Scimeme followed with a service ace to give Loyola a 23-19 lead, and the Greyhounds held on to take the set, 25-20.
The second set was the turning point of the match. Loyola jumped out to a 14-6 lead, but the Lady Jaspers stormed all the way back and tied it at 22-22 on a block by Kapovich and Alyssa Getzel (Richmond, Va.), then took the lead on a Kapovich kill. Manhattan earned the first set point when Getzel's kill made it 24-23, but two straight Loyola points gave the Greyhounds a set point of their own at 25-24. Manhattan fought that point off, then another at 26-25. After a kill by Andrea Reiff (Hawthorne, N.Y.) gave the Lady Jaspers their first set point, Loyola's Christina Greenup sent one long to give Manhattan the set, 28-26.
Manhattan had its best offensive output of the season in the third set, making just one attack error and hitting an outstanding .515 (18 kills, 33 attempts) in the set. Loyola hit an impressive .367 (13-2-30) in the set, but never challenged the Lady Jaspers. With the score knotted at 3-3, Manhattan went on a 16-7 run to open up a 19-10 advantage. The Greyhounds followed with a 7-2 rally to pull within four, but three straight points on Getzel's serve got the Lady Jaspers to set point. Manhattan closed out the set on its second opportunity when Sherryta Stokes (Beltsville, Md.) pounded a kill to finish off a 25-18 win that gave the Lady Jaspers a 2-1 lead in the match.
Loyola rolled out to a 4-1 lead in the fourth set thanks to a 3-0 run on Karlee Woodward's serve. With the score tied at 9-9, a Woodward kill ignited another 3-0 Loyola run that gave the Greyhounds an edge they would not lose. The Lady Jaspers pulled within one at 13-12, but Loyola quickly ran its advantage back to five at 18-13. The Greyhounds held on for a 25-20 win to send the match into the fifth set. Loyola hit .394 (15-2-33) in the fourth set.
The Lady Jaspers scored the first two points of the decisive set before Loyola claimed the next three to take the lead, prompting a Manhattan timeout. The Lady Jaspers seized control from there. With the score knotted at 5-5, a 4-0 Manhattan run capped by a Jen Haggerty (Springfield, Pa.) ace forced Loyola to take its first timeout of the set. The Greyhounds won the next point to momentarily slow Manhattan's momentum, but the Lady Jaspers refused to be denied and got to match point at 14-9 after a pair of Stokes kills. After Loyola won the next point, Manhattan finished off its first victory of the season when Stokes found open court in the back corner to cap the set, 15-10. Manhattan continued its awesome hitting in the fifth set, hitting .368 (9-2-19) to Loyola's .000 (3-3-20) in the final frame.
Stokes had a double-double with a team-high 16 kills and 11 digs, while Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.) smashed 15 kills and hit .462. Getzel hit .455, slamming five kills in 10 errorless swings, and added 48 assists and six digs. Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) posted a match-high 18 digs, as the Lady Jaspers out-dug the Greyhounds 65-55. Haggerty recorded four of Manhattan's season-high 10 aces. The Lady Jaspers also hit a season-high .299 (61-18-144) for the match, including an outstanding .425 (40-6-80) in the three sets they won.
Nina Camaioni registered a double-double with a match-high 20 kills and 17 digs for Loyola. Greenup tallied 17 kills and Rachel Schillinger added 10. Kristen Muscarella dished out 51 assists and completed a double-double with 12 digs. Brittany Born added 10 digs and three aces for the Greyhounds. As a team, Loyola hit .259 (66-23-166) in the match.
Manhattan now hits the road for its next three matches and 11 of its next 13. The Lady Jaspers are in action for a non-conference showdown at Providence (7-8) on Saturday before resuming MAAC play at Saint Peter's (5-8, 1-1 MAAC) and Siena (2-8, 1-1 MAAC) next weekend.
