Jaspers Cruise to Third Straight Win

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. - With the start of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play right around the corner, the Manhattan College volleyball team kept rolling on Wednesday night.  The Jaspers (4-6) picked up their third straight victory, 25-11, 25-23, 25-10, over St. Francis (NY) (1-13) at the Genovesi Center.

Manhattan's offense was on fire in the first set.  The Jaspers didn't commit an error and hit .348 (eight kills, 23 attempts) as a team in the opening frame.  The score was tied three times early on before Manhattan used a 4-0 rally to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 lead.  St. Francis (NY) got back within 7-6, but Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) followed with a kill to start an 8-1 run that made it 15-7.  After the Terriers claimed the next two points, Manhattan scored 10 of the next 12 to wrap up a 25-11 set win.

The Jaspers jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the second set before St. Francis (NY) battled back to take an 8-7 advantage.  With the score knotted at 13-13, the Terriers went on a 4-0 rally to go in front 17-13.  However, Mariana Furquim (Curitiba, Brazil) slammed a kill on the next point to spark a 9-5 Manhattan spurt that evened the set at 22-22.  St. Francis (NY) reclaimed the lead on a kill by Leah Zitting, but Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) followed with a kill to tie it once again.  Manhattan reached set point at 24-23, and a Furquim kill ended the frame, 25-23.

In the third set, Manhattan scored the first five points and never looked back.  The Jaspers later had runs of 6-0 and 7-1, and they didn't allow St. Francis (NY) to score back-to-back points until the margin was 23-6.  Manhattan hit .385 (12-2-26) in the set and finished off a 25-10 win on a Volovski kill.  It was Manhattan's first 3-0 victory of the season.

Furquim had a double-double for the Jaspers, posting team-highs with 11 kills and 11 digs.  She also registered four blocks.  McGuinness added eight kills, seven digs and five service aces, while Volovski hit .417, slamming five kills without an error in 12 attempts.  Hollegn Henderson (Long Beach, Calif.) recorded 28 assists and seven digs to go along with three blocks.  Maddie Heck (Corte Madera, Calif.) contributed five blocks, as Manhattan outblocked St. Francis (NY) 10-4.  The Jaspers hit .317 (34-8-82) as a team and outdug the Terriers 38-31.

Slavica Stefanovic led the Terriers with seven kills.  She also had six digs and two aces.  Saleesha Matthews added six kills and three blocks, while Feliz Ramirez tallied a team-high 11 digs.  Kelly O'Halloran distributed 11 assists and Kamalei Clifton handed out nine assists.  As a team, the Terriers hit .000 (24-24-91) in the match.