Box Score
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – In a matchup of the top two squads in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), the Manhattan College volleyball team (19-11, 12-4 MAAC) dropped a 25-15, 25-19, 25-15 decision to Fairfield (15-11, 12-3 MAAC) at Alumni Hall on Saturday afternoon. The Jaspers are now a half-game behind the Stags for first place in the MAAC standings with two matches remaining in the regular season.
Fairfield jumped in front quickly. The Stags built a 6-1 lead early in the first set before Manhattan rallied to pull within one, 8-7, on a kill by Ellie Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.). However, Fairfield responded by scoring 11 of the next 13 points to extend its advantage to 19-9. After the Jaspers got back within eight at 22-14, Fairfield ended the set on a 3-1 run to claim a 25-15 win.
In the second set, Manhattan went up 3-1 before Fairfield captured the next three points to take a 4-3 lead. The Stags eventually extended the margin to 11-7, but the Jaspers gradually chipped away. With Fairfield leading 16-12, Manhattan rallied for four straight points to force a 16-16 deadlock. However, the Stags countered with a 6-0 spurt to regain a 22-16 advantage, and Fairfield closed out the set by a 25-19 count.
The third set was tight early on. Fairfield took a 4-2 advantage before a pair of Wiekamp kills and a Jade Gray (Boise, Idaho) service ace put Manhattan in front 5-4. However, the Stags scored the next four points to go up 8-5. The run eventually reached 14-4, allowing Fairfield to open up an 18-9 cushion. The Jaspers got back within seven at 19-12, but would get no closer. The Stags hit .406 (17 kills, four errors, 32 attempts) in the set, winning 25-15 to finish off the sweep. It was Fairfield's 12th consecutive victory, and the Stags remained undefeated at home all-time against the Jaspers.
Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) and Wiekamp paced Manhattan with eight kills apiece. Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) tallied a team-high 13 digs and Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) added eight digs, while Gray handed out 13 assists. Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.) distributed 10 assists for the Jaspers, who hit .048 (26-21-105) as a team.
Marilyn Peizer led the Stags with 14 kills on .423 hitting, while Hadley Orr had nine kills and hit .412. Orr added a team-high 14 digs and Carsen Mata added 12 digs, as Fairfield outdug Manhattan 47-35. Rachel Romansky dished out 36 assists to go along with five kills, seven digs and three blocks. As a team, the Stags hit a solid .347 (47-13-98) in the match.
Manhattan is back in action with a 1 p.m. matchup at Quinnipiac (5-23, 3-12 MAAC) on Sunday. The Jaspers' magic number to clinch a place in the MAAC Tournament is two, which means Manhattan can wrap up a berth with a victory over the Bobcats and a loss by either Iona or Siena.