Riverdale, NY — Manhattan got off to a blazing start by winning the first two sets against Morgan State, before the Bears bounced back to take the last 3 sets to win it on Saturday afternoon at the Palestra. Manhattan wrapped up the Penn Invitational with a 1-2 record.
The Jaspers took the first set, 26-24, and did so after facing a 24-22 deficit. During that stretch, Manhattan rebounded with four straight kills, two from Maike Bertens and one each from Elenoa Sing and Laila Glover. Bertens was instrumental in helping Manhattan to the first set victory with 9 kills.
Despite having 3 less kills than the Jaspers on the day, Morgan State pulled out the next two sets by tight margins, 25-22 and 25-21.
Manhattan jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the fifth set, and were on the precipice of victory with two match points in their favor, starting at 14-12. However, the Bears would score 5 of the next 6 points to pull out a game with roller coaster emotions.
Bertens had 29 kills (career high) and 14 digs to lead Manhattan, while Mikalah Curran and Laila Glover added 16 and 13, respectively. Junior setter Sarah Emmons notched 47 assists in the loss.
Additionally, Bertens was named to the All-Tournament team for the Penn Invitational. Over the course of 2 days and 3 games, which included a 3-1 victory over Le Moyne to open the first day, Bertens tallied 48 kills accentuated by her 29 against Morgan State. Bertens had 17 and 2 kills against Le Moyne and Penn, respectively. Her previous career high for kills came last season when she had 28 kills versus Siena in a 3-2 win for the Jaspers.
Next Time Out
Manhattan will return to action when they host NJIT (4-8) on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. ET. The first 100 fans in attendance will receive a free Chick-fil-A Sandwich.