Box Score
Box Score
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – The Manhattan College volleyball team established a new program record with its 12th Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) victory of the season on Wednesday night. The first-place Jaspers (19-10, 12-3 MAAC) avenged one of their three conference losses this year with a 25-13, 22-25, 25-23, 25-16 triumph over Rider (14-12, 5-10 MAAC) at Alumni Gymnasium. Manhattan has now beaten every other MAAC team at least once in 2013.
The Manhattan offense was on fire in the opening set. The Jaspers hit an outstanding .484 in the frame, slamming 15 kills without an error in 31 attempts. The score was tight early on before Manhattan used a 10-2 rally to turn a 9-7 lead into a 19-9 advantage. Rider claimed the next point to temporarily halt the run, but the Jaspers responded with five of the next six points. Manhattan reached set point on a kill by Juliana Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii), and cruised to an easy 25-13 win.
In the second set, Manhattan jumped out to a 3-1 advantage before Rider battled back to take a 7-6 lead. After the Jaspers went back in front, 9-8, the Broncs went on an 8-3 run to open up a 16-12 cushion. Rider extended its advantage to five points at 23-18, but Manhattan responded with kills from Ellie Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) to get back within three, 23-20. The Jaspers fought off a set point on a kill by Anna Kitlar (Kiel, Germany), although Rider wrapped up a 25-22 set win when Kaitlyn Griffin slammed a kill on the next point.
Rider carried that momentum into the third set, taking an early 3-0 lead. The Jaspers scored four of the next five points to even the set at 4-4 before the Broncs went on a 12-4 spurt to open up a 16-8 advantage. However, a Kitlar kill started Manhattan's comeback, as the Jaspers captured four straight points to cut their deficit to 16-12.
After Rider claimed the next two points to push its lead back to six, 18-12, Manhattan rallied for nine of the next 12 points, knotting the score at 21-21 on a Kitlar kill. The Broncs scored the next point to regain the lead, but Wiekamp responded with a pair of kills, giving the Jaspers a 23-22 advantage. Rider evened things up at 23-23, then Wiekamp smashed another kill to bring Manhattan to set point. Kitlar followed with a kill to cap the come-from-behind 25-23 set win and give the Jaspers a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Broncs took timeout after the Jaspers raced out to an early 5-2 lead in the fourth set, and Manhattan eventually extended its advantage to 14-6 on back-to-back blocks by Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.) and Behrens. A Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) kill made it 19-10, and the Jaspers got to match point at 24-16 on a kill by Kitlar. With a 25-16 set win, Manhattan secured a 3-1 match victory.
It was Manhattan's first four-set win since Sept. 6. The Jaspers, who played just their second road match in a month, also improved to 5-1 away from Draddy Gymnasium in conference play. In addition, Mark Jones moved to 78-77 as Manhattan's head coach, marking the first time his career record has been above .500 since taking over the program.
Manhattan had one of its most balanced offensive efforts of the season. Five different Jaspers recorded at least 10 kills, while Peric, the Jaspers' setter, tallied eight kills without an error. Kitlar and Wiekamp led the way with 12 kills apiece, and Wiekamp added 16 digs to complete a double-double. Kitlar, meanwhile, also registered four solo blocks. McGuinness also had a double-double with 11 kills and 18 digs. Behrens slammed 10 kills on .529 hitting to go along with three blocks, while Volovski contributed 10 kills of her own. In addition to hitting .533, Peric posted a double-double with 46 assists and 13 digs. Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) finished with a match-high 19 digs, as the Jaspers outdug the Broncs 82-77. As a team, Manhattan hit .264 (63-16-178) in the match.
For Rider, Griffin finished with a team-high 12 kills and 11 digs. Jaclyn Webber also had a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs, while McKayla Huntley slammed 10 kills on .529 hitting. Ashlee Amatulli tallied 25 assists and 14 digs, and Brandie Hill handed out 17 assists for the Broncs. Alaina Piszczek led the Broncs with 16 digs and Ryan Ackermann added 14 digs. Rider hit .130 (48-24-185) as a team.
With the win, Manhattan moved one half-game ahead of Fairfield (14-11, 11-3 MAAC) for first place heading into a matchup with the Stags at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Connecticut. Manhattan's magic number to secure a place in the MAAC Tournament is two, so the Jaspers could clinch a playoff spot as early as Saturday.
