BALTIMORE - When the Manhattan College volleyball team played Loyola on Oct. 4, the Lady Jaspers held off a Greyhounds comeback from two sets down to post a five-set victory. Sunday's rematch at Reitz Arena played out in a similar fashion, as Manhattan won the first two sets before Loyola took the next two to force a fifth. This time, however, the Greyhounds (13-18, 8-8 MAAC) completed the comeback, posting a 24-26, 24-26, 25-15, 25-18, 15-10 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) victory over the Lady Jaspers (7-21, 3-13 MAAC). Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.) had six kills for Manhattan, including the 1,000th of her career.
In a first set that featured 16 ties and five lead changes, the Lady Jaspers built the first significant advantage when they used a 4-0 rally to turn an 11-10 deficit into a 14-11 lead. Loyola scored the next three points to tie it at 14-14, but Manhattan regained the lead on a kill by Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.). After the Lady Jaspers went up 17-15, the Greyhounds went on a 6-2 run to take a 21-19 advantage and force a Manhattan timeout. Manhattan scored five of the next seven points following the timeout to reach set point, but Loyola tied it at 24-24 on a kill by Nina Camaioni. The Lady Jaspers earned another set point at 25-24, then finished off a 26-24 set win on a block by Welsh and Strutner. Manhattan made just one error in the first set and hit .441 (16 kills, 34 attempts).
Loyola took an early 5-2 lead in the second set before Manhattan rattled off the next three points to force a 5-5 tie. The Greyhounds responded with an 8-3 run to open up a 13-8 advantage, but Manhattan again battled back, scoring seven of the next nine points to force a 15-15 deadlock. Loyola went back in front, 17-15, but Manhattan once again came back, tying the score at 18-18. After the Greyhounds opened up a 22-21 advantage, back-to-back kills by Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) gave the Lady Jaspers the one-point lead, 23-22. Manhattan got to set point on Casey Tidwell's (Redlands, Calif.) kill, but Loyola took the next point to even the set at 24-24. Manhattan reached set point again at 25-24, and took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 26-24 win. The Lady Jaspers continued their hot hitting in the second set, slamming 13 kills and committing just two errors in 32 attempts (.344) during the frame.
Loyola scored the first five points of the third set, and increased its lead to 13-3 on consecutive blocks by Karlee Woodward and Janet Pressler. After Loyola's advantage reached 21-9, Manhattan went on a 5-1 rally to get back within eight at 22-14. However, the Greyhounds hit .452 (17-3-31) in the set and extended the match with a 25-15 win.
After a tight start to the fourth set, the Greyhounds took control of the frame with a 6-1 run that turned an 11-10 lead into a 17-11 advantage. Manhattan got back within four at 21-17, but back-to-back Loyola points pushed the Greyhounds' advantage back to six at 23-17, and Loyola sent the match into a decisive set with a 25-18 fourth set win. The Greyhounds hit .500 in the fourth set, posting 16 kills and committing just one errors in 30 swings.
Unlike the first match between these teams, where the final set featured nine ties, Loyola jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the fifth set and didn't look back. Manhattan used a 3-0 run to cut its deficit from 9-4 to 9-7, but that's as close as the Lady Jaspers would get. Loyola hit .320 (11-3-25) in the final frame and capped its comeback from 2-0 down with a 15-10 win.
Rahey slammed a career-high 22 kills and hit .452 for the Lady Jaspers. Strutner notched a double-double with 14 kills and a team-high 13 digs, while Tidwell and Maddie Heck (Corte Madera, Calif.) each posted seven kills. Heck also dished out a career-best six assists. Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) finished with 46 assists and 10 digs for her third career double-double. Welsh tallied four blocks to go along with her six kills. Manhattan hit .295 (58-14-149) as a team.
Camaioni posted match-highs with 31 kills and 15 digs for the Greyhounds. She also hit .356 in the match. Woodward had 20 kills and hit .586, while Kathryn Dircks posted 11 kills and 10 digs for Loyola. Aubrey Kirven distributed 65 assists and added 10 digs, and Brittany Born notched 11 digs. Loyola held a 79-58 advantage in the kills department and outdug the Lady Jaspers 61-47. As a team, the Greyhounds hit .337 (79-24-163) in the match.
Manhattan has three matches remaining in the 2009 season. The Lady Jaspers host Providence (10-15) in their final non-conference matchup at 7 p.m. on Wednesday before concluding the season with a pair of MAAC matches next weekend. Manhattan visits Iona (11-15, 8-8 MAAC), the team that defeated the Lady Jaspers on Saturday, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, then hosts four-time defending MAAC champion Siena (13-12, 11-5 MAAC) on Sunday at 2 p.m. Welsh will be honored prior to Sunday's Senior Day match.
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