Box Score
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA – On Saturday morning, the Manhattan College volleyball team (2-0) continued its strong start to the 2014 season with a 25-15, 25-21, 25-22 victory over NJIT (1-2) at Tom Gola Arena in the La Salle Invitational. Manhattan is now 2-0 to start the season for the second straight year.
NJIT took an early 5-2 lead in the first set, but the Jaspers rallied back to tie it at 7-7 on a kill by Jade Gray (Boise, Idaho). Manhattan went ahead 9-8 on an Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) service ace. That sparked a 17-5 run which brought Manhattan to set point at 24-13. The Highlanders fought off two set point opportunities before Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) slammed a kill to finish off the Jaspers' 25-15 set win.
The Highlanders got out to another early lead in the second set, opening up a 10-3 advantage. However, a Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) kill sparked a 10-2 Manhattan rally that put the Jaspers in front 13-12. NJIT regained the lead, 16-15, before three straight Manhattan points gave the Jaspers an 18-16 cushion. The Highlanders won the next two points to tie the score again, but a Marissa Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) kill started a 5-1 Jaspers run that gave Manhattan a 23-19 lead. A kill by McGuinness ended the set, 25-21, as the Jaspers took a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, it was Manhattan that took the early lead, as back-to-back Volovski kills, followed by another from Claire Van Dyk (New Richmond, Wis.) made it 5-3 in favor of the Jaspers. NJIT pulled within one at 9-8, but Manhattan never relinquished its advantage. The Jaspers reached match point on a Volovski kill that made it 24-18. The Highlanders responded with a 4-0 rally before Manhattan finished off the set, 25-22, and the match, 3-0, on a kill by Van Dyk.
McGuinness smashed 13 kills and committed only one error, hitting .387 in the victory. She also tallied eight digs. Van Dyk finished with seven kills and nine digs, while Volovski added seven kills. Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.) handed out 21 assists and Gray distributed 12 assists. Yamashiro, meanwhile, recorded a match-high 25 assists, as the Jaspers outdug the Highlanders 61-58. Manhattan hit .221 (42 kills, 15 errors, 122 attempts) as a team.
For NJIT, Fran Edmondson led the way with eight kills, and she also registered 12 digs. Alyssa Armanda had a double-double with 21 assists and 11 digs, while Camilla Tinari paced the Highlanders with 14 digs and Danica Vukotic notched 11 digs. As a team, NJIT hit .105 (32-19-124) in the match.
Manhattan and NJIT will meet again next Saturday at the Terrier Invitational. The Jaspers conclude play at the La Salle Invitational with another match on Saturday, a 4:30 p.m. contest against Coppin State (2-0).
