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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - LaKell Havens (St. George, Utah) notched a team-high 10 kills, including the 1,000th of her collegiate career, and added seven blocks, but it was not enough for the Manhattan College volleyball team on Saturday afternoon, as the Jaspers (15-13, 8-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) suffered a 9-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-17 loss to Fairfield (17-9, 14-2 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium. The loss, coupled with wins by Siena and Iona, dropped Manhattan into a tie for fifth place in the jumbled MAAC standings.
Manhattan came out on fire and completely dominated the first set. Havens and Mariana Furquim (Curitiba, Brazil) notched a block on the first point of the match, then Alexa Lampasona (Remsenburg, N.Y.) slammed a kill. Leading 3-2, the Jaspers went on a 9-0 run, marked by a pair of Furquim service aces, to increase their advantage to 10 points. Manhattan's lead reached 12 points after a Hollegn Henderson (Long Beach, Calif.) ace made it 17-5. Fairfield responded with four of the next six points to pull within 19-9, but a kill by Brittany DeGagne (Penticton, B.C.) started a 6-0 Manhattan rally to conclude the set. The Jaspers reached set point on a block by Havens and Lampasona, then Havens slammed a kill to finish off a 25-9 win. Manhattan made just one attack error in the first set, hitting .464 (14 kills, 28 attempts) as a team.
After the Jaspers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set, Fairfield rallied back to tie the score at 5-5. DeGagne pounded a kill to put Manhattan back in front, 6-5, but the Stags responded with an 8-0 run to take a 13-6 advantage. With Fairfield leading 18-10, a block by Havens and Furquim started a 6-1 spurt that brought the Jaspers back within three, 19-16. However, Manhattan would pull no closer the rest of the set, as Fairfield notched a 25-20 win to even the match.
The third set began in a back-and-forth fashion. Fairfield won the first four points of the set, the Manhattan claimed the next five, taking the lead on an ace by Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.). After a Furquim ace made it 7-6 Jaspers, Fairfield rallied for the next four points to go up 10-7. The Jaspers trimmed their deficit to two when a DeGagne block made the score 13-11, but the Stags ended the set on a 12-4 rally to claim a 25-15 win.
Fairfield took an early 4-2 lead in the fourth set, but Manhattan responded with three straight points to go ahead 5-4. However, the Stags rallied for six of the next seven points to go back in front, 10-6. Fairfield extended its advantage to five at 14-9 before the Jaspers pulled back within three at 16-13. However, a kill by Haililani Pokipala then sparked an 8-0 Fairfield run that brought the Stags to match point. Manhattan fought off four straight match points before the Stags finished off the set, 25-17, to secure a 3-1 victory.
Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) and DeGagne both recorded nine kills for the Jaspers. McGuinness also had two aces. Furquim served three aces to go along with 11 digs and three blocks. Kelsey Huntoon (Monroe, Mich.) collected a team-high 19 digs and Bies added 11 digs. Henderson handed out 27 assists. The Jaspers hit .151 (38-17-139) as a team.
Camille Coffey slammed a match-high 11 kills on .381 hitting to lead the Stags. Kendal Dirkin and Caitlin Stapleton both added nine kills, while Pokipala notched eight kills and seven digs. Rachel Romansky posted a double-double with 40 assists and 14 digs to go along with three aces. Lauren Balmert had six of Fairfield's 11 aces and also tallied 13 digs. Kara Reis tallied 19 digs, as the Stags outdug the Jaspers 70-52. As a team, Fairfield hit .178 (48-25-129) in the match.
Manhattan now faces a must-win situation against Iona (12-12, 9-7 MAAC) on Sunday. The Jaspers host the Gaels at 2 p.m. and could be eliminated from MAAC Tournament contention with a loss. Iona notched a 3-0 victory over Saint Peter's on Saturday to move ahead of Manhattan in the MAAC standings. Siena upset first-place Niagara to take over sole possession of third place with a 9-6 conference mark, while the Jaspers and Marist are both 8-7 in MAAC play. Canisius is also in the mix for a tournament berth at 7-8.
Prior to Sunday's match, the Jaspers will honor their three seniors: DeGagne, Havens and Jackie Aldrich (Westhampton Beach, N.Y.).
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