Box Score
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – Appearing in a four-team Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament for the first time in a decade, the Manhattan College volleyball team (20-13) fell to defending champion Fairfield (18-12) in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon. The fourth-seeded Jaspers won the first set, but the top-seeded Stags rallied to take the next three, moving into the championship match with a 24-26, 26-24, 25-19, 25-22 victory at Siena's Alumni Recreation Center.
The sides proved to be evenly matched from the start, as there were six ties in the opening set. Fairfield took the first significant advantage when it used a 5-0 run to turn a 10-8 lead into a 15-8 cushion. The Jaspers rallied back though, knotting the score at 19-19 on a Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) service ace.
After the Stags regained the lead, 22-20, Manhattan got kills from Ellie Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.), then a block by Wiekamp and Anna Kitlar (Kiel, Germany) to take its first lead of the set, 23-22. Fairfield countered with two points of its own to reach set point before Volovski slammed a kill to tie it once again at 24-24. McGuinness followed with a kill to give the Jaspers their first set point, and she pounded another to finish off a 26-24 set win.
Manhattan carried that momentum into the second set, scoring the first three points of the frame. However, Fairfield countered with a 10-2 run to open up a 10-5 advantage. The Jaspers got back within two when a Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.) ace made it 15-13 before the Stags quickly ran the margin back to five points at 23-18. After a Manhattan timeout, the Jaspers came storming back, scoring four straight points to cut their deficit to one, 23-22. Fairfield got to set point on a kill from Marilyn Peizer, but Wiekamp then slammed consecutive kills to force a 24-24 deadlock. A Peizer kill on the next point gave Fairfield its third set point opportunity, and Caitlin Stapleton's kill sealed a 26-24 set win for the Stags, sending the teams into the locker room even at one set apiece.
Fairfield took the early lead in the third set, jumping out to a 6-3 advantage. The Stags held on to that advantage for most of the set, eventually extending the margin to nine points at 21-12. However, that's when the Jaspers began a comeback. A Wiekamp kill and an Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) ace started a 6-1 run that brought Manhattan back within four at 22-18. However, Fairfield scored three of the next four points to take the set, 25-19, and move within one set of the championship match.
Needing to win the fourth set to keep their season alive, the Jaspers began the stanza with three consecutive Kitlar kills. Fairfield immediately responded, scoring six of the next eight points to go up 6-5. After a Yamashiro ace knotted the score at 8-8, the Stags went on a 12-4 run to open up a 20-12 lead. However, the Jaspers refused to give in, countering with a 6-2 rally and forcing the Stags to call timeout. Fairfield got a kill from Peizer out of the timeout, and, after Manhattan won the next two, arrived at match point at 24-20. Volovski kept the Jaspers alive with a kill, then Juliana Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) and McGuinness teamed up for a block to make it 24-22 in favor of the Stags. Hadley Orr slammed a kill on the next point, though, clinching a 25-22 set win that gave Fairfield a 3-1 match victory and its third consecutive trip to the finals (and eighth in the last 10 years).
Wiekamp, who took home Second Team All-MAAC honors on Friday night, registered her 17th double-double of the season with 17 kills and 13 digs. Kitlar posted 12 kills and three blocks, while Volovski notched 10 kills. McGuinness and Behrens tallied seven kills apiece, and McGuinness added 20 digs. Yamashiro, a MAAC All-Rookie Team selection, had a match-high 21 digs to go along with three aces. Peric handed out 48 assists for the Jaspers, who hit .213 (58 kills, 21 errors, 174 attempts) as a team.
Stapleton pounded a match-high 18 kills for Fairfield. Hayley Moyer added 14 kills on .481 hitting, while Peizer tallied 14 kills, 13 digs and four blocks. Maddie Fitzpatrick recorded nine kills to go along with her eight blocks, as the Stags outblocked the Jaspers 11-5. Carsen Mata led the Stags with 18 digs and Camille Coffey collected 16 digs. Orr also contributed 12 digs for Fairfield, which outdug Manhattan 81-80. Rachel Romansky, the three-time MAAC Setter of the Year, handed out 55 assists and served three aces. As a team, Fairfield hit .281 (67-17-178) in the match.
The Jaspers won 20 matches for the second time in four years, and their 13-5 MAAC record this season set a new program record for conference victories.