Box Score
Box Score
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – Playing for the only time in a 10-day span, the Manhattan College volleyball team had one of its strongest blocking performances of the season on Saturday afternoon. The Jaspers (10-7, 4-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) had 10 blocks and added 10 service aces in a 25-19, 25-18, 27-25 victory over Iona (3-13, 1-5 MAAC) at the Hynes Athletic Center.
After Iona scored the first five points of the match, Manhattan rallied to go up 9-8. The Jaspers eventually extended their lead to 13-10 on a Marissa Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) kill, prompting an Iona timeout. Manhattan pushed the margin to six points at 21-15 on an ace by Alyssa Rehrer (Lorton, Va.), but the Gaels responded with a 4-2 spurt to get back within four, 23-19. However, a Jade Gray (Boise, Idaho) kill on the next point brought the Jaspers to set point, and Manhattan captured the frame by a 25-19 count.
In the second set, there were 10 early lead changes before Manhattan used a 7-2 run to turn an 11-11 deadlock into an 18-13 advantage. Iona captured the next two points to get back within three, 18-15, but the Jaspers countered with a 3-0 run of their own to regain a six-point lead, 21-15. Manhattan took the set, 25-18, to go up 2-0 in the match.
Manhattan came out on fire in the third set, jumping out to a 5-0 advantage, then going on a 5-1 run after Iona pulled within one at 6-5. A Milena Janjusevic (Belgrade, Serbia) kill made it 11-6 in favor of the Jaspers before the Gaels went on an 11-4 rally to go up 17-15. After Manhattan went back in front, 20-19, on a Rehrer ace, Iona responded with back-to-back points to pull ahead 21-20. The Gaels had set point at 24-23 and again at 25-24, but the Jaspers fought off each opportunity. A Janjusevic block gave Manhattan its first match point at 26-25, and Ivana Kostic (Grocka, Serbia) followed with a kill to finish off the set, 27-25, and the 3-0 victory.
The Jaspers, who lost seven straight in New Rochelle from 2007-13, have now won consecutive matches at Iona for the first time since the MAAC went to the double round robin format in 2006. The last time Manhattan won two in a row at the Hynes Athletic Center was in 2000 and 2002.
Janjusevic and Claire Van Dyk (New Richmond, Wis.) led the Jaspers with 12 kills apiece. Van Dyk completed a double-double with 12 digs, while Gray also had a double-double with 29 assists and 14 digs. Behrens and Kostic, meanwhile, each registered four blocks. Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) finished with 22 digs and three aces, and Rehrer tallied 10 digs and four aces. The Jaspers outdug the Gaels 69-68 and hit .090 (35 kills, 23 errors, 134 attempts) as a team.
For Iona, Amanda Gannon posted a team-high eight kills, and Claire Archibald had 13 digs to go along with six kills and two blocks. Natalie Ziskin recorded a double-double with 19 assists and 11 digs, while Jessica Paolucci contributed a team-high 16 digs for the Gaels. As a team, Iona hit .055 (28-21-128) in the match.
With the win, Manhattan remained tied with Siena for second place in the MAAC. The Jaspers host first-place Rider on Saturday afternoon, but first head to Fairleigh Dickinson (6-10) for a non-conference matchup at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
