Jasper Offense Shines In Home-Opening Win

Box Score

2012 Manhattan Volleyball Yearbook 

RIVERDALE, N.Y. - After opening the season with 12 straight on the road, the Manhattan College volleyball team finally got the chance to play in front of its home fans on Wednesday night.  And the Jaspers put on a show for the Draddy Gymnasium faithful.  Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) and Mariana Furquim (Curitiba, Brazil) each had a double-double and Manhattan (5-8) hit .312 (49 kills, 14 errors, 112 attempts) as a team in a 25-14, 25-15, 25-16 triumph over Lafayette (7-4).

Lafayette took an early 5-3 lead in the first set before Furquim pounded a kill to start a 13-1 Manhattan rally.  Furquim had three service aces during a 6-0 spurt, then, after the Leopards got a kill from Sarah Frohnapfel, the Jaspers went on another 7-0 run that included five kills by McGuinness.  Lafayette trimmed the margin to 18-11, but Manhattan responded with six of the next seven points to reach set point.  A Juliana Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) kill finished off a 25-14 win in a set where the Jaspers hit a stellar .433 (16-3-30) as a team.  Behrens hit .800 in the first set, slamming four kills without an error, and McGuinness hit .750, pounding six kills and not making an error.

The Jaspers continued their strong hitting early in the second set.  After Manhattan jumped out to a 7-2 lead on a block by Behrens and Furquim, Lafayette pulled within three at 10-7.  With the Jaspers in front 15-12, Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) slammed a kill to spark a 10-3 set-ending rally.  Manhattan won six of the final seven points, and clinched a 25-15 set win on a kill by Alexa Lampasona (Remsenburg, N.Y.).

"We did a good job in the first two sets," Head Coach Mark Jones said.  "The offense was hitting for a high percentage and we were passing really well.  Our passing was on, and that was really a key to tonight's match."

The Leopards built an early 3-1 cushion in the third set, but Manhattan immediately responded with four of the next five points to go up 5-4.  After Lafayette scored the next two points to regain the lead, a Furquim kill started an 8-1 Manhattan run that gave the Jaspers a 13-7 advantage.  The Jaspers extended the margin to 17-9 before the Leopards used a 5-2 spurt to get back within five, 19-14.  However, that's as close as it would get, as Manhattan won five of the next six points to move within one point of victory, and Behrens closed out the match with her 10^th kill of the night.  Manhattan took the third set by a score of 25-16.

McGuinness finished with 15 kills and 14 digs.  She also hit .433, committing just two errors in 30 swings.  Furquim notched 12 kills and 10 digs to go along with five aces.  Playing her first home match in a Manhattan uniform, Behrens hit .600 and made only one error in 15 attempts.  She added three blocks.  Hollegn Henderson (Long Beach, Calif.) distributed 38 assists.  Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) recorded 11 digs and was credited with a kill.  The Jaspers outdug Lafayette 56-42.

Karissa Ciliento had seven kills to lead the Leopards, while also notching 10 digs.  Michelle Woodworth tallied a team-high 13 digs, while Kaitlynn Zoller recorded three blocks.  Frohnapfel just missed a double-double with 20 assists and nine digs.  As a team, Lafayette hit .094 (23-14-96) in the match.