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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - On Saturday afternoon, the Manhattan College volleyball team's offense came alive in a big way. With all seven regular starters healthy and on the floor together in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) match for just the second time this season, the Lady Jaspers (13-13, 6-7 MAAC) slammed 57 kills and hit .344 (13 errors, 128 attempts) as a unit en route to a 23-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-9 victory over Marist (12-13, 7-6 MAAC) at the McCann Center.
The Red Foxes opened up a 5-3 lead early in the first set and extended that advantage to 15-9 before a 6-1 Manhattan rally got the Lady Jaspers back within one, 16-15. Marist scored the next two points to push its lead back to three, 18-15, but Manhattan again trimmed its deficit to one when a kill by Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) made it 18-17. After three straight Marist points put the Red Foxes ahead 21-17, a 6-0 Manhattan spurt, capped by back-to-back Rahey kills, gave the Lady Jaspers a 23-21 advantage. However, Marist rallied for four straight points to take the set by a 25-23 count.
Marist jumped out to an early 6-2 advantage in the second set, but back-to-back blocks from Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) and Brittany DeGagne (Penticton, B.C.) got Manhattan back within two at 10-8. The Lady Jaspers eventually tied the score at 13-13 on a kill by LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah). After Marist won the next point to go back ahead, an 11-2 Manhattan rally brought the Lady Jaspers to set point. The Red Foxes fought off three set points against before Strutner pounded a kill to finish off a 25-19 win. Both offenses hit well in the second set. Manhattan hit a stellar .314 (13-2-35), while Marist hit a solid .306 (16-5-36).
The tight third set featured 12 ties and eight lead changes. Manhattan pulled out to a 10-8 lead before three straight Marist points put the Red Foxes in front 11-10. However, the Lady Jaspers took five of the next seven points to take a 15-13 advantage of their own. After Marist rallied to go back in front, 17-16, a Havens kill tied the score and ignited a 7-0 Manhattan run that gave the Lady Jaspers a 23-17 edge. Once again, Strutner slammed a kill to end the set, and Manhattan took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-20 set win.
Manhattan dominated the fourth set. The Red Foxes scored the first point of the set, but the Lady Jaspers quickly responded with five straight to seize control. Marist didn't score consecutive points in the entire set and Manhattan hit a whopping .680 in the frame, pounding 18 kills and making just one error in 25 attempts. Manhattan ended the set on an 8-2 run, and a Havens kill on match point wrapped up a 25-9 set win that completed the 3-1 victory.
Four Manhattan starters reached double figures in kills, led by 14 each from Strutner and Alexa Lampasona (Remensburg, N.Y.). Strutner completed a double-double with 17 digs, while Lampasona made just one attack error and hit a career-high .520. Havens notched 13 kills on .435 hitting to go along with two service aces and four blocks. Rahey recorded 10 kills and hit .381, and DeGagne contributed four kills on .667 hitting, three assists, and five blocks off the bench. Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) distributed 40 assists and added seven digs and three blocks. Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) tallied 17 digs, as Manhattan outdug Marist 56-49. The Lady Jaspers also outblocked the Red Foxes 9-5.
Katie Estes tallied a match-high 21 kills on .356 hitting for the Red Foxes. Grace Hill added 13 kills, while Lindsey Schmid posted 11 kills and hit .381. Gabby Lutjen handed out 39 assists to go along with seven digs and four blocks, and Emily Brosky notched a match-high 23 digs. After recording 11 aces in a four-set victory over the Lady Jaspers in Riverdale on Oct. 16, Marist served just one ace and had 11 service errors on Saturday. The Red Foxes hit .241 (51-19-133) as a team.
Saturday's contest concluded Manhattan's four-match road trip. The Lady Jaspers return to Draddy Gymnasium to open their final three-match homestand of the season at 2 p.m. on Sunday against Siena (6-17, 5-8 MAAC). The Lady Jaspers posted a four-set victory over the Saints on Oct. 9, Manhattan's first win at Siena since 2003.
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