Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? It had been more than two years since the Manhattan College volleyball team won three consecutive matches. But the Lady Jaspers (10-16, 9-7 MAAC) weren't content with winning three straight. They made it four in a row on Sunday afternoon with a 25-11, 25-16, 25-21 drubbing of Canisius (16-10, 11-6 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium. Manhattan is now on a four-match winning streak for the first time since Oct. 21-29, 2005. The victory was also the 200th career win for Manhattan Head Coach Jolie Ward.
Manhattan was a team on a mission and played like it in the first set. The Lady Jaspers scored the first three points of the match before Canisius closed within 5-4. Leading 10-8, the Lady Jaspers went on a 9-0 run that included four straight Canisius hitting errors to open up a 19-8 advantage. After the teams traded the next three points, Manhattan went on another four-point rally and made it 24-10 on a service ace by Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.). The Lady Jaspers ended the set on a 15-3 run and cruised to a 25-11 win in which they hit .579 (12 kills, one error, 19 attacks) as a team. Canisius, meanwhile, hit .000 (7-7-24) in the first set.
It was more of the same in the second set, as the Lady Jaspers used an 8-1 run to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 9-3 lead. Manhattan maintained that lead for the remainder of the set, as Canisius was unable to pull any closer than five points. Leading 14-8, the Lady Jaspers rallied for three straight points to bring the lead to nine, 17-8. Ward was forced to use a timeout after the Griffs cut a 21-12 lead to 21-15, but the Lady Jaspers came out of the timeout with three straight points to get to set point. A kill by Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.) finished off the 25-16 win that gave Manhattan a 2-0 lead in the match. The Lady Jaspers continued their solid offensive play in the second set, hitting .516 (19-3-31).
The Lady Jaspers continued to roll early in the third set, opening up a 7-2 advantage. Canisius slowly chipped away and forced a 17-17 tie. Manhattan won the next point to regain the lead, but Canisius tied it again at 18-18. A Rahey kill made it 19-18 and started a 5-0 Lady Jaspers run that all but put the match away. Sherryta Stokes (Beltsville, Md.) sealed the victory with her 17th kill of the match, which capped a 25-21 Manhattan win in the third set.
Every Manhattan starter hit at least .333, as the Lady Jaspers hit a season-high .424 (45-9-85) as a team. Stokes led the way with 17 kills on .469 hitting, while Rahey had eight kills and hit .333. Rahey also tallied four blocks, four assists and two aces. Jackie Kapovich (Downers Grove, Ill.) hit .600 for the match, slamming seven kills and committing just one error in 10 swings. Andrea Reiff (Hawthorne, N.Y.) tallied seven kills on .455 hitting and added nine digs and three aces. Alyssa Getzel (Richmond, Va.) recorded a double-double with 38 assists and a match-high 10 digs, as the Lady Jaspers out-dug the Griffs 33-28. Welsh registered eight blocks for Manhattan.
Renee Lettow led Canisius with nine kills and Morgan Ammons added seven kills. Sarah Podlesh posted a team-high eight digs, while Layne Adams registered four blocks. Janelle Davis distributed 23 assists. As a team, the Griffs hit .116 (28-18-86) for the match.
With two matches remaining, the Lady Jaspers are still alive for one of four places in the MAAC Tournament, which will be held at Siena on Nov. 23-24. Fifth-place Manhattan trails Canisius and Iona by one in the loss column, pending Iona's result against Niagara on Sunday. The Lady Jaspers own the tiebreaker over the Griffs, but need to finish ahead of Iona in order to qualify over the Gaels.
The Lady Jaspers conclude their five-match homestand on Saturday with a 12 p.m. tilt against Saint Peter's (12-17, 6-9 MAAC). The contest is Manhattan's final home match of the season, and seniors Getzel, Kapovich, Reiff and Stokes will be honored before the match. The Lady Jaspers conclude the season next Sunday with a 2 p.m. showdown at Fairfield (16-12, 13-2 MAAC). Manhattan beat Saint Peter's in five and was swept by the Stags earlier this season.