Riverdale, N.Y. (October 28, 2006)-The Lady Jaspers' attack struggled with efficiency on Saturday afternoon resulting in a setback for Manhattan Volleyball. Canisius College's Jen Smith posted a double-double to help the Golden Griffins knock off the Lady Jaspers in four games (30-18, 30-21, 28-30, 34-32) at Draddy Gym.
Smith, who finished with a match-high 17 kills to go with 22 digs, helped stifle Manhattan's bid to force a fifth, and deciding, game. With the Lady Jaspers serving at game point in the fourth frame, Smith produced a kill for side out. Manhattan would have another game point opportunity after a Canisius error, but the Golden Griffins' Mary Boller scored two of Canisius' final three points to end the match. Boller tallied 10 kills total on the afternoon.
Manhattan had three players record at least 11 kills, but the Lady Jaspers hit just .084 as a team. Sophomore Sherryta Stokes notched a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs, but was not as efficient as she had been in last night's sweep of Niagara University.
Despite the loss, junior Ashley Watson continued to accumulate digs at an astronomical rate for the Lady Jaspers. The current MAAC Defensive Player of the Week tallied 34 digs over four games which puts her average at 8.71 digs per game this week. Last week, Watson averaged 7.25 digs per game en route to receiving the conference award.
Manhattan returns to action on Tuesday, October 31 at Columbia University.