Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? Maybe the Manhattan College volleyball team should wear pink more often. The Lady Jaspers wore pink warm-up shirts to celebrate “Lee National Denim Day” for breast cancer awareness on Saturday afternoon, then went out and put forth their best effort of the season. Freshman Bridget Call (Roberts, Wisc.) made her first career start at setter and responded with a career effort, leading the Lady Jaspers (3-10, 3-3 MAAC) to a 25-16, 30-28, 29-27 sweep of Marist (6-12, 1-4 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium. Call tallied career-highs with two kills, eight digs, four blocks and 32 assists in the win.
Manhattan seized control of the first set early on and never looked back. Marist built an early 2-1 lead, but that was erased on kills by Andrea Reiff (Hawthorne, N.Y.), Sherryta Stokes (Beltsville, Md.) and Reiff again. The Lady Jaspers went on an 11-3 run to open up a 12-6 lead, then, following two straight Marist points, rallied off an 8-3 spurt to make it 20-11. The Red Foxes never scored more than two consecutive points during the entire set, which Manhattan finished off, 25-16, on a kill by Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.). Manhattan hit .467 (17 kills, three errors, 30 attempts) in the first set, and Reiff was a perfect five-for-five attacking.
The Lady Jaspers scored the first five points of the second set, then scored five more after a pair of Marist points to make it 10-2. The Red Foxes gradually chipped away and tied the score at 14-14 after a pair of Alexandra Schultze service aces. After Manhattan claimed the next point to go back in front, Marist rattled off four in a row, including back-to-back Lindsey Schmid aces, to take an 18-15 lead. The set remained tight from that point forward, as Manhattan used a 5-0 run to turn a 21-18 deficit into a 23-21 lead. Marist scored the next three points to earn a set point, but a Stokes kill leveled the set at 24-24. Manhattan had set points at 25-24, 26-25 and 27-26, but each time Marist responded. The Red Foxes earned their second set point at 28-27, but a kill by Reiff knotted the score once more. The Lady Jaspers won the next point and finally closed out the set, 30-28, on a block by Reiff and Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.).
The tight play from the end of the second set carried over into the third, as there were 14 ties and nine lead changes during the set. Marist was the first side to gain some distance, as the Red Foxes used a 4-1 run to turn an 11-11 tie into a 15-12 lead. After Manhattan rallied for three straight points to force a 15-15 tie, Marist scored four in a row to go up 19-15. The Red Foxes ran their lead to 22-17 before a six-point rally on Reiff's serve brought the Lady Jaspers within two points of closing out the match. Marist scored the next two points to earn a set point, but a Welsh kill evened the set at 24-24. The Red Foxes had three more set opportunities at 25-24, 26-25 and 27-26, but Manhattan fought each one off. After a Jackie Kapovich (Downers Grove, Ill.) kill on what should have been a simple free ball, Manhattan finally got its first match point when Rahey's kill went off the Marist block. One chance was all the Lady Jaspers needed. The Lady Jaspers closed out the match the same way they closed out the second set, with a block by Reiff and Welsh. Manhattan won the set, 29-27, to cap its first 3-0 sweep since Oct. 20, 2007.
Stokes posted match-highs with 13 kills and 16 digs. Reiff also had a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs, while Welsh chipped in with seven kills and seven blocks. Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) added 11 digs, as the Lady Jaspers out-dug the Red Foxes 59-43. Manhattan hit .222 (42-18-108) as a team.
No Marist player reached double digits in kills. Schultze led the Red Foxes with eight kills, while Schmid and Joanna Foss each had seven. Cassie Campbell posted a team-high 13 digs and Dawn Jan, the MAAC leader in assists, dished out 28. The top offensive team in the MAAC, Marist was held to just .039 (35-30-129) hitting in the match.
In addition to the players, many fans and staff members wore pink shirts and jeans to support “National Denim Day.” The Lady Jaspers raised over $500 for the initiative, and donations are still being accepted at Manhattan's team page on the Denim Day website.
With the victory, the Lady Jaspers held onto fourth place in the MAAC. Manhattan entered the weekend tied with Iona (9-6, 2-2 MAAC) in the standings, and visits the Gaels to start a five-match road trip at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Live streaming video of the match will be available for a small fee as a part of the JasperVision package on www.gojaspers.com.