New Rochelle, N.Y. (October 22, 2006)-On a day when Iona College's Megan Dailey was honored for her 1,000th kill before the match, Ashley Watson and the Lady Jasper defense gave Dailey and the Gaels' offense plenty of reasons to be frustrated. For the second straight match, Watson averaged over seven digs per game to help Manhattan Volleyball to a three-game victory and a season sweep of the rival Gaels on Sunday afternoon.
"Our defense really stepped up and allowed us to control their attackers," said third year head coach Ray Green. "We were able to keep them out of their system a majority of the time."
Dailey, who surpassed the 1,000-kill milestone this past Wednesday at Marist College, managed just five kills on the afternoon. As a whole, the Iona attack hit .140 for the contest and could not boast a single player with more than eight kills.
Watson, a junior libero, led the defense with a match high 22 digs, while freshman Kandice Watson (no relation) was the other Lady Jasper with double-digit digs, contributing 12 digs from the outside hitter's position. Ashley Watson's performance comes only two days after the California native notched a career high 36 digs in a MAAC win over Rider University. In addition to her defensive effort, Kandice Watson contributed a match high 14 kills for a second consecutive double-double.
After a slow start, the Manhattan attack pieced together two of its most productive games of the season. The Lady Jaspers hit .378 in game two, and then clinched the victory with a .370 attack percentage in the final frame.
"I was happy to see our offense get things going after the first game," noted Green. "[Setter] Alyssa [Getzel] was a big part of that."
Getzel finished with 43 assists, 12 of which went in the direction of senior co-captain Meghan Plunkett, who had her best offensive performance of the season to date. With 12 kills and a .360 hitting percentage, Plunkett appears to be shaking off the lingering effects of a knee injury sustained last spring.
Iona senior Morgan Young was the Gaels most effective player with eight kills and a .333 hitting percentage.
Now 6-6 in MAAC play, Manhattan resumes its conference schedule on Friday, October 27 against Niagara University in Draddy Gym.