Jaspers Survive Five-Set Thriller at Loyola

Box Score

2012 Manhattan Volleyball Yearbook 

BALTIMORE - Whenever the Manhattan College volleyball team plays Loyola, it's a safe bet the match is going to go the distance.  That was the case again on Sunday, as the Jaspers and Greyhounds played five sets for the eighth time in their last 10 meetings.  And Manhattan (10-10, 5-4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) moved to 7-1 in those eight contests with a 17-25, 25-21, 25-22, 18-25, 15-11 triumph over the Greyhounds (10-8, 3-4 MAAC) at Reitz Arena.

Loyola never trailed in the first set.  The Greyhounds scored four of the first five points of the match, then, after Manhattan got kills from Mariana Furquim (Curitiba, Brazil) and Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) to pull within one, used an 11-3 rally to open up a 15-6 lead.  The Jaspers responded with a 4-1 spurt to trim their deficit to 16-10, but Loyola immediately countered with three straight points to again make the margin nine, 19-10.  The Greyhounds eventually took the set by a 25-17 count.

The Greyhounds took an early 4-1 lead again in the second set before the Jaspers responded by winning six of the next seven points to go in front 7-5.  Manhattan extended its advantage to 14-9 on back-to-back blocks, but Loyola claimed the next three points to get back within two, 14-12.  Leading 16-14, the Jaspers went on a 4-0 rally to open up a 20-14 advantage.  The teams would trade points from there, and Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) pounded a kill to give Manhattan the set, 25-21.

There were seven ties and three lead changes in the third set.  After a back-and-forth start, Loyola used a 7-0 rally to turn a 7-5 deficit into a 12-7 advantage.  Juliana Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) slammed a kill on the next point, starting a 4-0 Manhattan run that brought the Jaspers within one at 12-11.  Then, with Loyola in front 18-16, a kill by Ellie Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) sparked a 7-2 spurt that gave the Jaspers the lead, 23-20.  Manhattan reached set point on a Volovski kill, and a kill by Alexa Lampasona (Remsenburg, N.Y.) finished off a 25-22 set win for the Jaspers.

After the sides alternated the first six points of the fourth set, Loyola scored six of the next eight to open up a 9-5 advantage.  The Greyhounds controlled the set from there, and used a 6-0 spurt to extend their lead from 16-12 to 22-12.  Manhattan wouldn't go away quietly, though, as the Jaspers went on a 6-2 rally, including holding off three set points, before Loyola closed out the set, 25-18.  The Greyhounds scored 20 points on kills and hit a stellar .436 (three errors, 39 attempts) in set four.

Unlike their matchup at Rider on Saturday, the Jaspers established early control of the fifth set in this one.  After Loyola scored the first point of the set, Manhattan responded with the next four to open up a 4-1 edge.  The Greyhounds trimmed their deficit to one at 5-4 before Behrens slammed a kill to start a 6-3 Jaspers rally that extended the margin to 11-7.  Loyola eventually pulled within 13-11, but Manhattan got kills from Wiekamp and Volovski on the next two points to finish off a 15-11 set win and a 3-2 match victory.

With the win, Manhattan snapped its two-match losing streak and improved to 15-4 in five-set tilts since the start of the 2010 season.

Volovski led the Jaspers with 14 kills.  She also tallied five blocks.  Wiekamp had a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs off the bench, while Collareta also posted a double-double with 43 assists and 15 digs.  Lampasona finished with eight kills on .350 hitting to go along with six blocks, and Furquim contributed eight kills and 10 digs.  Kelsey Huntoon (Monroe, Mich.) recorded a team-high 19 digs for the Jaspers.  As a team, Manhattan hit .183 (52-21-169) in the match.

Faye Lukas slammed 29 kills and added 12 digs for the Greyhounds.  Mindy Maloney contributed 12 kills on .476 hitting and six blocks, while Jac Bullock had 10 kills and five blocks.  Lauren Andersen recorded a double-double with 61 assists and 18 digs.  Katie Dircks tallied a match-high 23 digs, as the Greyhounds outdug the Jaspers 87-73.  Janet Pressler notched 16 digs and two service aces, and Lauren Arnold posted 12 digs to go along with seven kills, two aces and three blocks.  Loyola outblocked Manhattan 11-8 and hit .246 (71-26-183) as a team.  The Greyhounds also had a 104-100 edge in total points won.