Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Manhattan College volleyball team saw its six-match winning streak come to an end on Wednesday, as NJIT (7-10) notched a 25-23, 25-27, 25-18, 23-25, 15-12 victory over the Jaspers (13-8) at Draddy Gymnasium. It was Manhattan's fifth consecutive five-set match.
NJIT jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first set, but the Jaspers chipped away and eventually took a 15-13 advantage on a kill by Juliana Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii). The Highlanders went back in front, 18-17, on back-to-back Fran Edmondson service aces, before Manhattan rallied for four straight points to go up 21-18. After the Jaspers opened up a 23-20 cushion, NJIT finished the set on a 5-0 rally, stealing a 25-23 win to take a 1-0 lead the match.
After NJIT scored the first point of the second set, Manhattan took the next four to make it 4-1. The Jaspers increased their lead to 15-9 on a kill by Anna Kitlar (Kiel, Germany), then extended the advantage to 19-12. However, the Highlanders rallied back. NJIT countered with a 9-2 run to pull ahead 21-20 before Manhattan won the next two points to go back in front. The Jaspers reached set point first when an Ellie Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) kill made it 24-23, but NJIT responded with two straight points to earn a set point of its own. The Jaspers fought off that set point on a kill by Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii), and Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) followed with two kills of her own to give Manhattan the set, 27-25.
The Jaspers again took an early lead in the third set, building a 5-2 advantage. With Manhattan still leading 14-11, NJIT got a kill from Cathy Leung to begin a set-ending a 14-4 run. The Highlanders took the frame by a 25-18 count to regain the match lead.
The fourth set featured 16 ties and six lead changes. Manhattan scored the first two points of the set before NJIT rallied to take a 4-3 advantage. The back-and-forth play continued, as the Jaspers used a 5-1 run to turn an 11-9 deficit into a 14-12 cushion. NJIT countered with a 6-2 spurt of its own, opening up an 18-16 lead. The Highlanders broke a 22-22 deadlock on a Leung kill, but Behrens slammed a kill on the next point to again pull Manhattan even. She then teamed up with Jade Gray (Boise, Idaho) on a block to bring the Jaspers to set point before slamming another kill to finish off the frame, 25-23, and send Manhattan into its fifth consecutive fifth set.
In the fifth set, NJIT went up 5-2 before kills by McGuinness and Volovski, followed by a Kitlar ace evened things at 5-5. The Highlanders responded by claiming five of the next six points to open up a 10-6 advantage. Manhattan once again clawed back, pulling within one at 11-10 on a Kiltar kill. However, NJIT countered with a 3-1 rally to reach set point, and NJIT closed on the victory on its second opportunity. The Highlanders claimed the fifth set 15-12, snapping Manhattan's winning streak and handing the Jaspers their first home-court loss of the year.
McGuinness and Volovski each pounded a match-high 17 kills for the Jaspers. McGuinness added 16 digs to complete a double-double, while Volovski also registered four blocks. Kitlar finished with 13 kills on .355 hitting to go along with 10 digs and three blocks. Wiekamp had a double-double as well, notching 10 kills and 15 digs. Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.) handed out 34 assists and Gray distributed 19 assists. Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) collected a match-high 30 digs, marking her second straight 30-dig effort. As a team, Manhattan hit .173 (63 kills, 31 errors, 208 attempts) in the match.
Leung led NJIT with 16 kills and 20 digs. Valerie Carroll posted 15 kills on .458 hitting and added four blocks, while Julia Colombo didn't commit an error, hitting .526 with 10 kills to go along with six blocks. Danica Vukotic recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 15 digs, and Nina Vukotic finished with 18 digs and five blocks. Edmondson tallied 49 assists, 17 digs and two aces. Katie Gostwick contributed 17 digs for the Highlanders, who outdug the Jaspers 97-86. NJIT also had a 10-8 advantage in blocks and hit .240 (60-18-175) as a team.
Manhattan (7-1 MAAC) resumes its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) schedule with a pair of matches this weekend. Saint Peter's (3-20, 1-8 MAAC) visits Draddy Gymnasium for a 1 p.m. matchup on Saturday, while Rider (10-7, 2-5 MAAC) comes to Riverdale at 1 p.m. on Sunday.