Manhattan-Denver Box Score
Manhattan-St. Francis (NY) Box Score
QUEENS, N.Y. - On Saturday afternoon, the Manhattan College volleyball team wrapped up play at the St. John's Classic with a pair of matches at Taffner Field House. In their first match of the day, the Lady Jaspers fell to Denver (4-3), 25-16, 25-18, 25-18. Manhattan (1-4) then picked up its first victory of the 2010 season, 25-23, 27-25, 25-19 over St. Francis (NY) (3-6).
Against Denver, the Pioneers used a 6-1 run early in the first set to turn a 5-4 deficit into a 10-6 advantage. Denver extended its lead to 16-10 before Manhattan scored five of the next seven points to make it 18-15. However, the Pioneers responded with a 5-0 run to take control, and Denver won the opening set by a 25-16 count.
Three straight kills by Alexa Lampasona (Remensburg, N.Y.) gave Manhattan a 5-3 lead early in the second set before a pair of Denver points knotted the score at 5-5. The Lady Jaspers scored the next two points to again take the lead, but the Pioneers responded with an 8-0 rally to take a 13-7 advantage. After Denver pushed its lead to 16-9, Manhattan rallied for seven of the next 11 points to get back within four, 20-16. However, Denver hit .321 (12 kills, three errors, 28 attempts) in the set and took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-18 win.
The third set featured 12 ties and five lead changes. After the sides traded early runs, Denver used a 3-0 spurt to turn a 14-14 deadlock into a 17-14 advantage. Manhattan rallied for the next two points to get back within one, but the Pioneers scored the next point to maintain their lead. The Lady Jaspers got within one again at 19-18 before Denver went on a 6-0 run to close out the set, 25-18, and wrap up a 3-0 match victory.
Lampasona, Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) and LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah) each tallied seven kills to lead the Lady Jaspers. Strutner also recorded a team-high 10 digs, while Havens added three blocks. Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) dished out 19 assists to go along with seven digs. Manhattan hit .152 (29-15-92) in the match.
For Denver, Alyssa Bonelli slammed a match-high 15 kills on .464 hitting. Alex Turgeon added 12 kills for the Pioneers. Kacie Wikierak recorded a match-high 19 digs, as the Pioneers outdug the Lady Jaspers 42-38. She also had four of Denver's nine service aces. Kresson Vreeman registered 20 assists and five kills, while Julie Cawthra handed out 17 assists. Overall, Denver hit .301 (45-14-103) as a team.
The match against St. Francis (NY) was tight from the outset. The Lady Jaspers scored the first two points of the match and led 4-1 in the first set before the Terriers went on a 9-2 run to take a 10-6 lead. Manhattan countered with an 8-4 rally to knot the score at 14-14. After St. Francis (NY) scored three straight points to take a 17-14 advantage, the Lady Jaspers claimed six of the next eight points to go back in front, 20-19. St. Francis (NY) scored the next point to tie the score, and it was deadlocked again at 21-21 and 22-22. Manhattan claimed the next two points to reach set point and prompt a St. Francis (NY) timeout. The Terriers won the first point out of the timeout, but the Lady Jaspers took the second to finish off a 25-23 set win.
In the second set, it was St. Francis (NY) that jumped out to the early 4-1 advantage. After the Terriers extended their lead to 10-4, a 7-0 Manhattan run put the Lady Jaspers in front by an 11-10 margin. The Terriers scored the next three points to regain the lead before Manhattan battled back to force a 13-13 tie. There would be seven more tie scores before a Strutner kill pushed Manhattan within two points of winning the set at 23-21, forcing St. Francis (NY) to call timeout.
The Terriers scored the next three points following the timeout to reach set point, but another Strutner kill forced another deadlock at 24-24. St. Francis (NY) won the next point to earn another set point before Jaci Rahey's (West Milford, N.J.) kill evened the score once more at 25-25. Another Rahey kill gave Manhattan its first set point, and a kill by Collareta capped a 27-25 win that gave the Lady Jaspers a 2-0 lead in the match.
After the sides traded the first eight points of the third set, three straight St. Francis (NY) points gave the Terriers a 7-4 lead. However, Manhattan responded by winning 12 of the next 15 points to go in front by a 16-10 margin. The Lady Jaspers pushed their advantage to 20-12, but the Terriers chipped away and got back within six at 21-15. Manhattan reached match point at 24-17, but needed three opportunities before Rahey put away the set, 25-19, and finished off the Lady Jaspers' first victory of the season.
Strutner recorded her second double-double of the season, posting a match-high 17 kills to go along with 11 digs. Making her first start of the season, Rahey slammed nine kills and committed just one error, hitting .364 in the match. Havens added eight kills on .400 hitting. Collareta notched 32 assists and Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) tallied 11 digs. Overall, Manhattan hit .223 (47-18-130) as a team.
Anisa Lila and Marina Georgieva each posted a double-double for the Terriers. Lila had a team-high 13 kills and 15 digs, while Georgieva tallied 12 kills to go along with 14 digs. Maria Kashavelova distributed 31 assists and hit .400. Liliana Rodriguez registered a match-high 16 digs, as St. Francis (NY) outdug Manhattan 55-54. The Terriers hit .154 (42-22-130) in the match.
The Lady Jaspers are back in action next weekend, when they head to Smithfield, R.I., for the Bryant Invitational. Manhattan takes on the host Bulldogs (4-3) at 8 p.m. on Friday before facing off with Navy (3-4) and Holy Cross (3-3) on Saturday.
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