Manhattan-Washington State Box Score
Manhattan-Sam Houston State Box Score
PULLMAN, Wash. - The Manhattan College volleyball team began play at the Nike Cougar Challenge on Friday. Unfortunately, despite playing some of their best volleyball of the season, the Jaspers dropped a pair of tight matches at Bohler Gym. Manhattan (3-4) opened the tournament with a 25-23, 25-23, 25-11 loss to host Washington State (6-2), then suffered a 26-24, 25-20, 25-23 defeat against Sam Houston State (6-4) later in the afternoon.
In Manhattan's first match of the day, Washington State quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead. However, the Jaspers battled back within 7-5 on a service ace by LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah). Manhattan pulled within one when a Mariana Furquim (Curitiba, Brazil) kill made it 11-10 in favor of Washington State before the Cougars rallied to extend their advantage to 18-14. The Jaspers fought back again, though, getting back within 22-21 and prompting a Washington State timeout. Manhattan trimmed its deficit to one again at 24-23, but the Cougars claimed the next point on a block by Marcelina Glab and Chelsey Bennitson to secure the set. Washington State hit a solid .343 (17 kills, five errors, 35 attempts) in the opening frame.
The second set proved to be just as even as the first, featuring four ties and three lead changes. Manhattan got back-to-back blocks from Havens and Furquim to pull in front 3-0, then extended its advantage to 10-2 on a block by Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) and Brittany DeGagne (Penticton, B.C.). After the Jaspers' lead reached nine points at 13-4, Washington State responded with a 12-5 run, forcing Manhattan to use a timeout. Kelsey Huntoon (Monroe, Mich.) slammed a kill out of the timeout to make it 19-16 Jaspers, but Washington State won the next four points to take a 20-19 lead. Manhattan scored the next two points to go back in front before the Cougars rallied for three in a row to reach set point. Washington State took the second set by an identical 25-23 margin to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The tight play continued early in the third set. Washington State jumped out to a 3-0 advantage before three straight Manhattan points tied the score. The Cougars then extended their lead to 8-4 before the Jaspers again rallied to get within one at 8-7. However, Washington State took control from there, going on an 8-0 run to make it 16-7. After Manhattan trimmed its deficit to 18-11, the Cougars scored the final seven points to finish off the set, 25-11, and a 3-0 match victory.
McGuinness led the Jaspers with 12 kills, while Furquim added seven kills and three blocks. Sarah Haselhorst (Naperville, Ill.) tallied a team-high nine digs. Huntoon and Hollegn Henderson (Long Beach, Calif.) each posted seven digs, and Henderson added 22 assists. Havens had three blocks to go along with her three aces. As a team, Manhattan hit .052 (28-23-96) in the match.
Megan Ganzer had 14 kills and hit .357 for Washington State. Ver'Leea Hardaway added 10 kills, while Rachel Todorvich and Glab each tallied eight kills. Glab also registered six blocks. Camryn Irwin dished out 30 assists and Shawna Lum returned a match-high 10 digs, as the Cougars outdug the Jaspers 38-33. Washington State hit .237 (41-18-97) as a team.
Manhattan's match against Sam Houston State would be just as tight as the contest with the Cougars. After the Jaspers took the early lead in the first set, the Bearkats used a 6-2 spurt to trim their deficit to one point, 14-13. Manhattan pushed its advantage back to three at 19-16, but Sam Houston State scored the next three points to tie the score. It would be tied again at 20-20, 21-21 and 22-22 before the Jaspers got a kill from Havens and a Sam Houston State error to reach set point. However, the Bearkats fought off both of Manhattan's set point opportunities before getting one of their own at 25-24. Sam Houston State scored the next point, as well, to finish off a 4-0 run and take the set, 26-24.
In the second set, the Jaspers built an early 7-4 cushion before the Bearkats rallied to tie it at 8-8. After Manhattan went on a 4-0 run to take a 12-8 advantage, Sam Houston State responded with a 7-1 spurt to go in front 16-13. Manhattan got back within three on a block by DeGagne and Furquim that made it 21-18, but Sam Houston State took the set by a 25-20 margin to go ahead 2-0 in the match.
After two sets that saw a combined 11 ties and three lead changes, there were 11 ties and eight lead changes in the third set alone. The Jaspers took an early 5-2 lead on a Furquim ace before the Bearkats rallied to go in front 7-6. Manhattan then went on a 4-0 rally to regain the lead, 10-7. The back-and-forth play continued until Sam Houston State used an 8-2 run to turn a 17-15 deficit into a 23-19 lead. Manhattan claimed the next three points to get back within one, 23-22, but Sam Houston State earned a 25-23 set victory to complete a 3-0 match win.
McGuinness paced Manhattan with eight kills in the match, followed by seven each from Furquim and Havens. Havens also hit .429 and tallied five digs. Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) had a team-high eight digs and Henderson handed out 23 assists. Manhattan hit .187 (34-14-107) as a team in the match.
Sam Houston State didn't hit below .300 in any set, ending the match with a .304 hitting percentage (50-16-112). Kaylee Hawkins had a double-double for the Bearkats, notching 10 digs to go along with 17 kills on .424 hitting. Tayler Gray also notched 10 digs, as Sam Houston State outdug Manhattan 47-41. Haley Neisler contributed 10 kills, while Kym Loving hit .727, posting eight kills on 11 errorless swings. She also distributed 38 assists and collected six digs.
The Jaspers have one match remaining in the Pacific Northwest before returning home. Manhattan concludes the tournament with a 2 p.m. ET matchup against San Francisco (4-3) on Saturday.
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