Box Score
Box Score
JERSEY CITY, NJ – On Sunday afternoon, the Manhattan College volleyball team returned to action with a matchup at Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) rival Saint Peter's. Behind 11 kills from Sandra Lozanova (Pernik, Bulgaria), the Jaspers (7-17, 3-7 MAAC) earned an important conference victory, 25-21, 25-16, 25-13 over the Peacocks (0-16, 0-9 MAAC) at the Yanitelli Center.
“I'm impressed with the way we bounced back from yesterday's match,” Head Coach Mark Jones said. “We really needed a win, and I'm glad we were able to do what we needed to do in order to get one. Hopefully this match will give us some confidence moving forward.”
Manhattan took an early 5-3 lead in the first set before Saint Peter's rallied to go up 11-10. The Jaspers responded with a 7-1 run to take a 17-12 advantage, but the Peacocks pulled back within two at 20-18. A kill by Marissa Behrens (Honolulu, HI) halted the Saint Peter's spurt, and a Lozanova kill wrapped up the set, 25-21.
In the second set, Lozanova had a kill and an ace as part of a 4-0 run that turned a 5-5 draw into a 9-5 advantage for the Jaspers. After a Milena Janjusevic (Belgrade, Serbia) kill made it 13-7, Saint Peter's countered with a 5-1 spurt to trim its deficit to two, 14-12. Manhattan scored eight of the next 10 points, though, to bring the margin back to eight, 22-14, and the Jaspers took the frame by a 25-16 count.
The Jaspers took an early lead again in the third set, as Lozanova ripped a pair of kills to put her team up 4-1. It was 11-8 when Behrens found the floor to start a 10-2 run that made it 21-10. Manhattan didn't commit a hitting error in the final set, recording 12 kills on 24 attempts for an outstanding .500 hitting percentage. After an Ivana Kostic (Grocka, Serbia) kill brought the Jaspers to match point, Janjusevic put one home to end the set, 25-13, and the contest, 3-0.
Lozanova's 11 kills were a match-high, while Kostic was credited with 10 kills on .400 hitting. Janjusevic contributed eight kills on .300 hitting to go along with two service aces. Behrens, meanwhile, hit .444 in the match, smashing five kills with just one error on nine attempts. Zoe Lindsey (McHenry, IL) had a double-double with 31 assists and 12 digs, while Alyssa Rehrer (Lorton, VA) notched four aces. Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, HI) tallied 10 digs, as the Jaspers outdug the Peacocks 47-42. As a team, Manhattan hit .320 (41-10-97) in the match.
For the Peacocks, Amanda Przybocki led the way with six kills. Caitlinn Williams and Amanda Colombo recorded five kills apiece, and Colombo added 10 digs. Marlena Budna had four blocks, as Saint Peter's held a 7-1 advantage in that category. Carolina Ruiz handed out 13 assists for the Peacocks, who hit .125 (26-15-88) as a team.
This was the first of two consecutive meetings between the Jaspers and Peacocks. The squads will meet again at Draddy Gymnasium on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
