Manhattan-Navy Box Score
Manhattan-Holy Cross Box Score
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - One day after dropping a five-set thriller to host Bryant, the Manhattan College volleyball team (3-5) notched a pair of wins on the second day of action at the Bryant Invitational. In their first match of the day, the Lady Jaspers posted a 25-21, 26-24, 25-18 triumph over Navy (3-7). Manhattan then knocked off Holy Cross (4-8) by a score of 14-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-23 at the Chace Athletic Center. After starting the season 0-4, the Lady Jaspers have now won three of their last four matches.
Against Navy, a very significant opponent on the anniversary of 9/11, the Lady Jaspers put forth their best offensive performance of the year, hitting a season-best .315 (47 kills, 12 errors, 111 attempts) in the match.
The Midshipmen took an early 7-3 lead in the first set before a 5-0 Manhattan, featuring three straight kills by Jaci Rahey(West Milford, N.J.), gave the Lady Jaspers an 8-7 advantage. Navy scored the next point to knot the score at 8-8, and it would be tied again at 9-9 and 10-10 before the Lady Jaspers went on a 4-1 rally to take a three-point advantage. After the Midshipmen went on a 4-1 run of their own to force a 15-15 deadlock, the Lady Jaspers rallied for the next three points to make it 18-15. Navy battled back to force the seventh and final tie, 19-19, but Manhattan went on a 6-2 spurt to end the set, and capped a 25-21 win on a kill by Maddie Heck (Corte Madera, Calif.). Manhattan hit an impressive .333 (14-4-30) in the first set.
Navy jumped out to an early lead again in the second set, going up 4-1. The Lady Jaspers tied it at 6-6, but the Midshipmen responded with an 11-4 run to take a 17-10 advantage. After a Rahey kill trimmed Navy's lead to 18-12, Manhattan scored five of the next six points to get within two at 19-17. Manhattan pulled within one, 23-22, on a kill by Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) before an Erin Fortner kill brought Navy to set point. The Lady Jaspers fought off two set point opportunities, then earned one of their own when Alexa Lampasona's (Remensburg, N.Y.) kill made it 25-24. Manhattan capped its comeback when a Rahey kill finished off a 26-24 set win.
The third set started off tight, featuring seven early ties. Manhattan scored three straight points to break an 8-8 deadlock, but Navy immediately responded with a 5-0 rally to go in front 13-11. The Lady Jaspers won the next two points to force a 13-13 tie, and the teams traded the next eight points. After the final tie of the set at 16-16, Manhattan rallied for nine of the final 11 points, finishing off a 25-18 set win and a straight-sets victory. The Lady Jaspers hit a blistering .412 (17-3-34) in the third set.
Strutner finished one dig shy of her third successive double-double, notching a match-high 14 kills and nine digs. Rahey and Heck each hit .500 in the match. Rahey tallied 13 kills, while Heck notched eight kills and six blocks. Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) recorded a team-high 10 digs, and Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) contributed 37 assists and seven digs.
Fortner notched a double-double for Navy, posting a team-high 10 kills to go along with 11 assists. Jenny Rudewicz distributed a team-high 13 assists, while Holly Berger led the Midshipmen with 15 digs. Navy outdug Manhattan 41-40 and hit .118 (32-20-102) as a team.
Holy Cross used an early 9-2 run to seize control of the first set in the Lady Jaspers' second match of the day. The Lady Jaspers pulled back within five at 14-9 before the Crusaders went on a 7-1 rally to increase their advantage to 21-10. After Manhattan scored three of the next four points, Holy Cross finished off the set, 25-14. The Crusaders hit an impressive .308 (15-3-39) to the Lady Jaspers' .050 (10-8-40) in the first set.
In the second set, Manhattan jumped out to a 6-1 lead. However, the Crusaders responded with a 13-5 run to take a 14-11 advantage. From there, Manhattan seized control. The Lady Jaspers scored 13 of the next 15 points to reach set point. Holy Cross fought off four set points before Rahey pounded a kill to end the set. Manhattan knotted the match with the 25-20 set win.
The Lady Jaspers picked up right where they left off in the third set, scoring the first five points before extending that lead to 11-2. Holy Cross used a three-point rally to get within six at 14-8, but the Lady Jaspers wouldn't let the Crusaders pull any closer than that. Manhattan reached set point at 24-17 and this time only needed one opportunity, finishing off the 25-17 win on a kill by Lampasona. The Lady Jaspers hit a solid .410 (18-2-39) in the third set.
After a back-and-forth start to the fourth set, Manhattan rallied for five straight points to turn an 8-7 deficit into a 12-8 advantage. The Lady Jaspers broke it open from there, rallying for eight of the next 11 points to increase their lead to 20-11. Each team registered three straight points before a 7-0 Holy Cross run trimmed Manhattan's advantage to 23-21. The Lady Jaspers reached match point on a kill by Heck, but the Crusaders continued their rally, notching the next two points to get back within one, 24-23. However, the Lady Jaspers closed out the match on their third opportunity, as Heck's kill wrapped up the set, 25-23. Manhattan hit well in the fourth set also, posting a hitting percentage of .308 (15-3-39).
Strutner registered her second double-double of the tournament with 18 kills and 23 digs. LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah) notched 10 kills and seven blocks, while Rahey also tallied 10 kills. Heck notched nine kills on .400 hitting, and Lampasona added eight kills and five blocks. Collareta handed out 43 assists and Bies returned 27 digs. Manhattan outblocked Holy Cross 10-4 and outdug the Crusaders 77-69. Overall, the Lady Jaspers hit .252 (59-19-159) in the victory.
Megan Lynch had a double-double for the Crusaders with 16 kills and 15 digs. Rebecca DeSanti and Kathleen Colpoys both added 10 kills, while Liz Ashton had eight on .400 hitting. Chelsea O'Donnell also posted a double-double with 35 assists and 14 digs. Elizabeth Watters registered a team-high 22 digs, while Angela Chisholm recorded 10 digs. Holy Cross hit .224 (54-17-165) as a team.
The Lady Jaspers return to Rhode Island on Tuesday for a non-conference showdown with Providence (4-8). The match, Manhattan's final contest before the start of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play, is slated to get underway at 7 p.m.
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