BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Manhattan College volleyball team entered Saturday's match desperately in need of a win. And the Lady Jaspers nearly got one against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) rival Canisius. After the Griffs (9-11, 6-4 MAAC) won the first two sets, the Lady Jaspers (6-14, 2-7 MAAC) stormed back to force a fifth before coming up just short, 25-20, 25-20, 25-27, 22-25, 15-12 at the Koessler Athletic Center. The loss was Manhattan's third straight and eighth in its last nine matches.
Manhattan took an early 5-3 lead in the first set, but Canisius rallied for the next four points to take a two-point lead of its own, 7-5. After the Lady Jaspers charged back to force an 8-8 tie, the Griffs responded with a 7-1 run to take a 15-9 advantage. The Griffs increased their lead to seven points at 19-12 before the Lady Jaspers scored the next four points to pull back within three, 19-16. That's as close as Manhattan would get, however, as Canisius claimed five of the next seven points to reach set point. The Griffs hit an excellent .417 (12 kills, two errors, 24 attempts) in a 25-20 first-set win.
After the second set started out tight, Manhattan used a 7-2 run to turn a 7-5 deficit into a 12-9 lead. Canisius tied the score at 13-13, but a Casey Tidwell (Redlands, Calif.) kill, followed by a block by Tidwell and Aurore Kullak (Beloeil, Belgium) put the Lady Jaspers back in front by two, 15-13. The Griffs scored the next two points to tie it at 15-15, and the sides traded the next 10 points. A block by Janelle Davis and Layne Adams broke a 20-20 tie and ignited a 5-0 Canisius run to end the set and give the Griffs a 2-0 lead in the match. Canisius' hitting was even better in the second set, as the Griffs hit .438 (17-3-32) en route to a 25-20 win.
After Canisius jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the third set, a kill by Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.) ignited a 9-0 Manhattan run that put the Lady Jaspers in front, 15-13. Canisius charged back to regain the lead, 17-16, but the Lady Jaspers responded with three straight points to go back in front, 19-17, and prompt a Canisius timeout. Manhattan increased its lead to three when Kullak's kill made it 22-19, then the Griffs rallied for the next five points to reach match point at 24-22. The Lady Jaspers got back-to-back kills from Maddie Heck (Corte Madera, Calif.) and Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) to fight off two match points, then earned a set point of their own at 25-24. After Canisius claimed the next point to force a 25-25 tie, Welsh pounded a kill to give the Lady Jaspers another set point. Rahey then slammed a kill to give Manhattan the set, 27-25.
Manhattan carried its momentum into the fourth set, jumping out to an early 8-5 lead. However, Canisius responded with a 10-4 run to take a 15-12 lead and force a Lady Jaspers timeout. Out of the timeout, Manhattan got consecutive blocks, the first by Welsh and the second by Welsh and Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.), to cut the Griffs' lead to one, 15-14. After Canisius pushed its lead back to 19-17, four straight Manhattan points, capped by back-to-back Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) service aces, gave the Lady Jaspers a 21-19 advantage. Canisius pulled within one at 23-22, but a Welsh kill followed by a Welsh and Collareta block capped a 25-22 set win for the Lady Jaspers that sent the match into a decisive fifth set. Manhattan didn't make an attack error and hit an outstanding .542 in the set, pounding 13 kills on 24 attempts.
In the fifth set, the Griffs took early leads of 3-1 and 5-2. Following a Manhattan timeout, a kill by Welsh sparked a 5-0 Lady Jaspers rally that gave Manhattan a 7-5 lead. Canisius took the next two points to force a 7-7 tie, but a Strutner kill put the Lady Jaspers in front 8-7 as the teams switched sides. After another Strutner kill increased the Lady Jaspers' lead to 10-8, a 6-0 Canisius rally got the Griffs to match point at 14-10. Manhattan fought off the first two match points, but Canisius sealed the set on its third opportunity. Canisius committed just two errors in the final set, hitting .385 (12 kills, 26 attempts) in the 15-12 win.
Welsh led Manhattan with 19 kills and hit an excellent .417, making just four errors in 36 attempts. Welsh also tallied seven blocks. Strutner notched her ninth double-double of the season with 15 kills and a match-high 24 digs, while Rahey recorded 13 kills. Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) had 15 digs for the Lady Jaspers. Making just her second collegiate career, Collareta handed out a career-high 54 assists to go along with four blocks and four kills on .400 hitting. As a team, Manhattan hit .253 (67-24-170) in the match.
Samantha Good led four Griffs in double figures with 19 kills. Renee Lettow had a double-double with 15 kills and 16 digs, while Adams notched 13 kills and eight blocks. Danielle Brawn added 12 kills, and Davis distributed 52 assists and hit .538, slamming seven kills on 13 errorless swings. Allyson Severyn, the MAAC leader in digs, had 17, as the Griffs outdug the Lady Jaspers 64-61. The Griffs hit .273 (68-23-165) as a team.
Manhattan continues its season-long five-match road trip with a 1 p.m. tilt at Niagara (15-6, 8-2 MAAC) on Sunday. The Purple Eagles, who defeated Saint Peter's 3-0 on Saturday, beat the Lady Jaspers in four sets at Draddy Gymnasium on Sept. 26.