NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - After nearly toppling Fairfield and extending its winning streak on Saturday, the Manhattan College volleyball team was back in action on Sunday afternoon. The Lady Jaspers (7-7, 2-2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) got off to a good start, winning the first set 25-18, before Iona (9-5, 3-1 MAAC) rallied back to claim an 18-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-18 victory at the Hynes Athletic Center.
Iona charged out of the gate quickly, building an early 6-2 before the Lady Jaspers responded with an 8-2 run of their own. Manhattan took a 10-8 lead on a service ace by Nikki Chamberlin (San Diego, Calif.), then extended that advantage to 16-12 on a kill by Alexa Lampasona (Remensburg, N.Y.). The Gaels scored the next two points to make it 16-14, but the Lady Jaspers rallied for six of the next eight to push their lead back to six, 22-16. After Iona cut Manhattan's advantage to 22-18, the Lady Jaspers notched the final three points of the set (all on Iona errors) to claim a 25-18 win.
The Gaels took an early lead again in the second set, jumping out to an 8-4 advantage. After Iona extended its lead to 16-8, the Lady Jaspers went on an 8-3 run to get back within three, 19-16. Iona won the next two points to push its advantage back to five before a kill by Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.), then a block by Strutner and Kelsey Huntoon (Monroe, Mich.) once again made it a three-point deficit. That's as close as Manhattan would get, however, as Iona won four of the final five points to take the set, 25-19.
Following the 10-minute intermission, Manhattan raced out to a 6-3 lead to open the third set. However, Iona quickly responded, taking a 12-10 lead of its own. After a Huntoon ace tied the score at 15-15, a 4-0 run gave Iona a lead it wouldn't relinquish. The Gaels committed just one error in the third set, hitting a solid .438 (15 kills, 32 attempts) en route to a 25-19 win that gave them a 2-1 edge in the match.
The fourth set featured three early ties before Iona established first distinct lead for either side, a 9-5 advantage. Manhattan stormed back to tie the score at 10-10 before the Gaels rallied for 10 of the next 12 points to seize control. The Lady Jaspers trimmed their deficit to five when Aurore Kullak's (Beloeil, Belgium) ace made it 20-15, but Iona's solid all around play was too much to overcome. The Gaels hit .395 in the fourth set, slamming 18 kills and making just three errors in 38 attempts, and sealed the match by claiming a 25-18 win.
Strutner led the Lady Jaspers with 17 kills. She added nine digs. LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah) added 10 kills, while Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) had nine. Huntoon notched six kills and didn't commit an error in 11 swings, hitting an impressive .545. Jamie Collareta (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) handed out 38 assists, while Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) tallied a team-high 21 digs and Kullak posted 10 digs. The Lady Jaspers hit .189 (50-19-164) as a team.
Theresa Harvey recorded a double-double with 17 kills and 10 digs to lead the Gaels. Alicja Pawelec tallied 14 kills, while Colleen Genett posted eight kills on .304 hitting and added seven blocks. Nicole Tamburri distributed 37 assists and hit .625, contributing five kills on eight errorless attempts. Allison Nieters registered a match-high 31 digs, while Bethany Schornack added 13 digs and Laura Fojanesi had 11. Iona outdug Manhattan 80-64 and outblocked the Lady Jaspers 9-1. The Gaels' also had nine aces to the Lady Jaspers' four. Overall, Iona hit .317 (58-12-145) as a team.
The Lady Jaspers conclude their three-match road trip on Wednesday night, when they visit Columbia (8-2) for a 7 p.m. tilt. The Lions enter the contest on an eight-match winning streak.
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