SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Coming off their first win of the season against St. Francis (NY) last Saturday, the Manhattan College volleyball team played its best match of the year on Friday night. However, the Lady Jaspers (1-5), who were playing with a full roster for the first time this season, came up just short of their second straight victory, dropping a thrilling 23-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-18, 15-12 decision to host Bryant (6-3) in their opening match of the Bryant Invitational at the Chace Athletic Center.
The first set was tight throughout, featuring 13 ties and seven lead changes. Bryant built the first significant advantage of the set at 11-8 before Manhattan got back within one at 13-12. The Bulldogs scored the next two points to push their lead back to three, 15-12, but the Lady Jaspers responded with an 8-2 run, taking a 20-17 lead on a kill by Maddie Heck (Corte Madera, Calif.). Bryant rallied to take a 22-21 lead before the Lady Jaspers took the next two to go in front 23-22. After the Bulldogs scored the next point to tie the score at 23-23, Manhattan reached set point on a Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) kill. The Lady Jaspers took advantage of that opportunity, taking the set by a 25-23 count.
Bryant built an early 4-0 lead in the second set, but the Lady Jaspers stormed back to tie it at 6-6. The Bulldogs again opened up some distance, taking a 10-7 lead, but Manhattan again responded, winning the next three points to knot the score at 10-10. Once again, Bryant tried to pull away, going on another 4-0 rally to take a 14-10 advantage, before the resilient Lady Jaspers fought back to tie the score, 19-19. The score would be deadlocked again at 20-20 and 23-23 before the Bulldogs claimed the final two points of the set to wrap up a 25-23 win that evened the match at 1-1.
After the sides traded the first eight points of the third set, Manhattan used a pair of LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah) service aces to open up a 7-4 advantage. The Lady Jaspers controlled the set from there, never giving up the lead for the rest of the frame. Bryant got within 9-7 before a 12-5 Manhattan run pushed the Lady Jaspers' advantage to eight points, 21-13. The Bulldogs scored seven of the next eight points to get back within two at 22-20 before a Rahey kill, then back-to-back blocks wrapped up a 25-20 Manhattan win that gave the Lady Jaspers the lead in the match.
Bryant used an 8-0 run early in the fourth set to turn a 4-4 deadlock into a 12-4 advantage. Manhattan rallied for the next five points to make it 12-9, but the Bulldogs responded with the next four to bring their lead back to seven, 16-9. The Lady Jaspers pulled within five at 19-14, but that's as close as they would get, and Bryant sent the match into a decisive fifth set with a 25-18 win.
After Bryant scored the first point of the final set, Manhattan rallied for four straight, capped by an Aurore Kullak (Beloeil, Belgium) ace. However, the Bulldogs responded with a 10-4 run, forcing the Lady Jaspers to take a timeout trailing 11-8. The Lady Jaspers claimed three of the next four points to get back within one at 12-11 before Bryant scored the next two to reach match point. The Bulldogs needed two opportunities to wrap up the set, 15-12, and claim the come-from-behind victory.
Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.), who earned all-tournament honors at last weekend's St. John's Classic, notched a double-double with a match-high 22 kills and 11 digs. Rahey added 13 kills, while Havens posted career-bests with three aces and four blocks. She also matched her career-high with 10 kills. Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) just missed a double-double with 43 assists and eight digs. Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) finished with 26 digs, three shy of her career-high, and Kullak added 12 digs, as the Lady Jaspers outdug the Bulldogs 77-75. Manhattan also outblocked Bryant 8-3 and hit .211 (58 kills, 22 errors, 171 attempts) as a team.
Maria Scocca had 20 kills to lead Bryant. Kendall Gaffney added 15 kills, while Jazmin Stoner notched a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs. She also had four aces, and Nicole Percz tallied nine kills on .381 hitting. Jadith Lorenzo also recorded a double-double with 49 assists and 11 digs, while Robyn Gardner registered 25 digs. As a team, the Bulldogs hit .212 (63-24-184).
Manhattan concludes the Bryant Invitational with a pair of matches against Patriot League foes on Saturday. The Lady Jaspers take on Holy Cross (4-6), a five-set winner over Boston College on Friday, at 10 a.m., then face Navy (3-5) at 5 p.m. to conclude the tournament. Navy also lost to Bryant on Friday.
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