FAIRFIELD, Conn. - On Friday night, the Manhattan College volleyball team ran into a hot-hitting squad from Fairfield. The three-time defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season champion Stags (6-10, 4-1 MAAC) hit an impressive .320 (46 kills, 14 errors, 100 attempts) as a team en route to a 25-16, 25-11, 25-20 victory over the Lady Jaspers (5-11, 1-4 MAAC) in MAAC action at Alumni Hall.
The Stags came out swinging in the first set, quickly building a 4-1 lead. Manhattan pulled within 6-4 on a service ace by Aurore Kullak (Beloeil, Belgium), but Fairfield quickly responded and ran its lead back to five points at 12-7. After Manhattan scored the next two points to get back within three, the Stags went on a 9-1 run to open up a 20-10 advantage. Fairfield slammed 19 kills and hit an outstanding .536 (four kills, 28 attempts) in a 25-16 first-set victory.
Fairfield continued rolling in the second set, scoring the first four points before a block by Kullak and Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.) trimmed the Stags' lead to 7-6. However, Fairfield scored 18 of the final 23 points to finish off a 25-11 set win. The Stags continued their hot hitting in the second set, slamming 13 kills and committing just two errors in 26 swings for a .423 hitting percentage. Manhattan, meanwhile, hit .000 (7-7-30) in the set.
The third set was the most competitive of the match, as Manhattan built early leads of 3-1 and 6-3. Fairfield scored the next three points to tie it at 6-6 before a Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) kill put the Lady Jaspers back in front, 7-6. After Manhattan took a 9-8 lead, Fairfield responded with a 6-0 run to take a five-point advantage of its own, 14-9. The Lady Jaspers slowly chipped away and trimmed their deficit to three when Kullak's kill made it 20-17, but that's as close as they would get. Fairfield scored the next two points to push its lead back to five points, and the Stags capped a 3-0 victory by taking the third set, 25-20.
Kullak, who returned to the front row rotation after being limited to libero duties for the last five matches, paced the Lady Jaspers with six kills and 11 digs. Welsh added four kills and four blocks, while Laura Bellotti (Dix Hills, N.Y.) distributed 17 assists. As a team, Manhattan hit .066 (20-14-91) in the match.
Katie Mann slammed 17 kills and hit .571 for the Stags. Lauren Balmert tallied a double-double with 35 assists and 10 digs, and added four kills on .364 hitting. Kara Reis collected a match-high 18 digs, as the Stags outdug the Lady Jaspers 53-34.
The Lady Jaspers, who have now lost five in a row, return home on Sunday, when Loyola (8-11, 3-1 MAAC) visits Draddy Gymnasium at 2 p.m. The match will be webcast live at www.gojaspers.com as a part of the JasperVision package. It's also National Denim Day for breast cancer awareness, and all fans are encouraged to come to the match wearing pink shirts and jeans.
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