Box Score
HAMDEN, Conn. – One day after dropping out of first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), the Manhattan College volleyball team moved right back into the top spot on Sunday. The Jaspers (20-11, 13-4 MAAC) topped Quinnipiac (5-24, 3-13 MAAC) 27-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-22 at Burt Kahn Court and regained a half-game lead over Fairfield when the Stags fell in five sets to Iona. However, that Iona victory was bittersweet, since the Jaspers needed a Gaels loss to secure a place in the MAAC Tournament.
The first set was a back-and-forth struggle that featured eight ties and three lead changes. Quinnipiac jumped out to an early 4-1 advantage before the Jaspers rallied to tie it at 6-6. However, the Bobcats responded with five straight points to go ahead 11-6. After Manhattan once again rallied to force a 12-12 deadlock, Quinnipiac went on a 5-2 spurt to go up 17-14. The Jaspers countered, though, going on a 10-4 run and reaching set point on a Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.) service ace. Quinnipiac fought off three set point opportunities, then had one of its own at 25-24. Ellie Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) smashed a kill to tie the score once more at 25-25, and Manhattan earned another set point on a kill by Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.). Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) followed with a kill to wrap up the set, 27-25.
Quinnipiac again built an early 3-1 advantage in the second set. Manhattan went ahead 8-6 on a Sarah Haselhorst (Naperville, Ill.) ace, but the Bobcats scored the next two points to even the score at 8-8. The sides would trade the next 18 points before Quinnipiac used a 3-0 run to turn a 17-16 deficit into a 19-17 lead. After the Jaspers rallied to tie it at 20-20, Quinnipiac scored three in a row to go up 23-20. The Bobcats reached set point at 24-21, and Manhattan fought off two opportunities before Quinnipiac closed out the frame, 25-23.
There were five early ties in the third set, but the Jaspers eventually opened up a 13-8 cushion on a Jade Gray (Boise, Idaho) ace. Manhattan would maintain that advantage throughout the remainder of the set, claiming a 25-20 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
In the fourth set, Quinnipiac scored the first three points before Manhattan scored six of the next seven to go up 6-4. After a Juliana Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) kill gave the Jaspers a 12-9 advantage, the Bobcats responded with a 6-3 run to even the score at 15-15. Manhattan regained the lead, 16-15, on a kill by Erin Weis (Omaha, Neb.), and eventually extended that margin to 23-19, prompting a Quinnipiac timeout. The Jaspers reached match point at 24-20, and Volovski finished off the four-set victory with a kill. Manhattan took the fourth set by a 25-22 count.
Wiekamp registered a double-double to pace the Jaspers. She tallied 17 kills and a career-high 26 digs. Volovski added 16 kills and five blocks, while Behrens notched 12 kills and four blocks. McGuinness, meanwhile, recorded nine kills and 15 digs. Peric had a double-double with 49 assists and 13 digs, and Weis contributed five digs. Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) collected 21 digs, as the Jaspers outdug the Bobcats 85-80. As a team, Manhattan hit .243 (61 kills, 19 errors, 173 attempts) in the match.
Katie Urycki led the Bobcats with 19 kills on .340 hitting. She added 13 digs to complete a double-double. Allison Leigh registered 17 kills on .300 hitting to go along with six blocks, while Chandler Thornton had a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs. Logan Riker notched a match-high 29 digs and Cody Michaels added 10 digs. Brittanie Robinson handed out 54 assists for Quinnipiac, which hit .202 (61-24-183) as a team.
The Jaspers can clinch a playoff spot and at least a share of their first MAAC regular season title in 10 years with a victory in their regular season finale. Manhattan visits Iona (14-13, 12-5 MAAC) on Saturday night at 7 p.m.