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NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - The Manhattan College volleyball team entered Sunday afternoon's match looking to avoid its first losing streak in a month. Unfortunately, the Jaspers were up against a red-hot Iona squad that was going for its fourth straight victory. And the Iona offense proved too much to handle, as the Gaels (9-7, 6-2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) hit .306 (44 kills, 14 errors, 98 attempts) as a team en route to a 25-15, 25-22, 25-12 victory over the Jaspers (11-8, 4-3 MAAC) at the Hynes Athletic Center.
Manhattan got a block from LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah) and Mariana Furquim (Curitiba, Brazil) on the first point of the match before Iona quickly rallied to take a 9-5 lead. The Jaspers won the next three points to make it 9-8, but wouldn't claim consecutive points again the rest of the set. Iona took 16 of the final 25 points to take the first set by a 25-15 count.
After Iona built a 3-1 advantage in the second set, back-to-back Manhattan blocks capped a 4-0 run that gave the Jaspers a 5-3 lead. The Gaels went back in front, 19-16, before Manhattan rallied to tie it at 21-21 on a kill by Brittany DeGagne (Penticton, B.C.). However, a Catrina Warren kill on the next point gave the lead back to Iona, and the Gaels won the set 25-22 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Iona immediately took control of the third set, jumping out to a 7-0 lead. The Gaels extended their cushion to 18-5 before a 4-1 Manhattan spurt brought the Jaspers back within 10 at 19-9. However, it would get no closer. Iona hit an exceptional .517 (17-2-29) in the set, which it won by a 25-12 margin.
Havens and Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) both had six kills to lead the Jaspers. Havens added five blocks, while McGuinness also tallied six digs. Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) notched a team-high seven digs, and Kelsey Huntoon (Monroe, Mich.) and Sarah Haselhorst (Naperville, Ill.) contributed five digs apiece. Hollegn Henderson (Long Beach, Calif.) handed out 17 assists. Manhattan hit just .030 (24-21-99) as a team.
For Iona, Warren and Madisyn Spence led the way with 10 kills each. Alicja Pawelec tallied nine kills to go along with two service aces and six digs, while Nicole Tamburri posted 29 assists, seven digs and three blocks. Molly O'Shea didn't commit an error in 10 swings, hitting .500 with five kills. She also recorded three blocks. Theresa Harvey registered a match-high 14 digs, as the Gaels outdug the Jaspers 48-34. Iona also had a 6-0 advantage in aces.
After playing four of their last five away from home, the Jaspers return to Draddy Gymnasium for a pair of matches next weekend. Manhattan hosts Siena (4-12, 2-6 MAAC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday on Lee National Denim Day for breast cancer awareness, then welcomes Marist (7-10, 4-3 MAAC) to Riverdale at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
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