FAIRFIELD, Conn. - For the Manhattan College volleyball team, one of two streaks had to come to an end on Saturday. The Lady Jaspers entered their match with Fairfield as the winners of six straight, but they were also on an 11-match losing streak against the six-time defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season champions. Manhattan (7-6, 2-1 MAAC) came close to making the winning streak be the one that was extended, but Fairfield (4-10, 3-0 MAAC) came back from a two-sets-to-one deficit to post a 21-25, 25-13, 13-25, 25-19, 15-12 victory over the Lady Jaspers at Alumni Hall.
The Lady Jaspers raced out to an early 4-2 lead before Fairfield stormed back to go in front 9-7. Manhattan scored the next two points to tie it at 9-9, and the score would be tied again at 10-10, 11-11 and 12-12. The Lady Jaspers broke it open from there, going on an 8-3 run to build a 20-15 advantage. A 5-2 Fairfield rally got the Stags back within two at 22-20, but kills by Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) and LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah) brought the Lady Jaspers to set point. Manhattan committed just one error in the set, a 25-21 win, and hit .333 (14 kills, 39 errors).
Fairfield scored the first three points of the second set and never looked back. After a Havens kill made it 7-5 Fairfield, the Stags went on a 7-1 run to increase their lead to 14-6. Manhattan scored the next two points to pull within six, 14-8, but a 9-3 Fairfield rally brought the Stags within two points of winning the set. Fairfield finished off the set, 25-13, to even the match at one set apiece.
Manhattan returned the favor by dominating the third set. The Lady Jaspers built an 11-4 advantage before the Stags won the next four points to get back within 11-8. A 7-2 Manhattan rally pushed the Lady Jaspers' lead back to eight at 18-10. After Fairfield trimmed its deficit to six, 19-13, a service error by Brianna Dixion gave the serve back to Manhattan. Aurore Kullak (Beloeil, Belgium) came in to serve for the Lady Jaspers and her two service aces, including one on set point, highlighted Manhattan's set-ending 6-0 run. The Lady Jaspers took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-13 set win. Manhattan hit a blistering .556 (11-1-18) in the set. In addition to the solid offensive output, the Manhattan defense produced six blocks in the third set.
The Stags opened up a 5-2 advantage early in the fourth set before Manhattan scored the next three points to tie it at 5-5. However, Fairfield scored five of the next six points and opened up a 10-6 lead on the second of back-to-back aces by Kara Reis. The Lady Jaspers eventually tied the score when an ace by Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) made it 13-13. However, Fairfield responded with a 5-0 rally go back in front, 18-13. Manhattan got back within two on Rahey's kill that made it 20-18, but the Stags scored the next four points to reach set point. Fairfield sent the match into the fifth with a 25-19 set win.
Neither team was able to establish an early advantage in a fifth set that featured 10 ties and four lead changes. Manhattan built the first two-point lead at 9-7 before Fairfield scored the next two points to tie it at 9-9. After the Lady Jaspers took an 11-9 edge on a block by Kelsey Huntoon (Monroe, Mich.) and Rahey, the Stags again rallied back to tie the score. Manhattan went back in front, 12-11, on a Rahey kill, but Fairfield scored the final four points to wrap up the victory with a 15-12 set win.
Rahey finished with 13 kills to lead the Lady Jaspers. Havens added 12 kills, while Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) notched nine kills and 16 digs. Collareta posted a double-double with 39 assists and 15 digs, and Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) tallied 21 digs. Huntoon tied a career-high with five kills to go along with a career-high seven blocks, as the Lady Jaspers outblocked the Stags 12-6. Overall, Manhattan hit .138 (46-25-152) in the match.
For Fairfield, Kendal Dirkin led the way with 13 kills on .429 hitting. Hayley Moyer added 12 kills and hit .550, while Haililani Pokipala notched a double-double with 11 kills and 21 digs. Alex Lopez registered 11 digs, as Fairfield outdug Manhattan 73-72. Rachel Romansky just missed a double-double, posting 44 assists and nine digs. The Stags hit .144 (56-32-167) as a team.
The Lady Jaspers return to action on Sunday, when they visit Iona (8-5, 2-1 MAAC) at 2 p.m. The Gaels dropped a 3-0 decision against Marist on Saturday afternoon.
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