Box Score
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Last season at Marist, the Manhattan College volleyball team jumped out to a 2-0 lead, only to see the Red Foxes come back to win in five. On Saturday afternoon, it was the Jaspers' turn to return the favor. Manhattan (7-6, 1-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) overcame a two-set deficit, as well as two match points in the third set and two more in the fifth, to post a come-from-behind 23-25, 24-26, 26-24, 25-20, 17-15 victory over Marist (6-5, 0-1 MAAC) in each team's conference opener at McCann Arena.
Reflecting how close the match was, there were a total of 39 ties and 14 lead changes over the five sets, three of which required extra points. Manhattan won 115 total points to Marist's 110.
The back-and-forth play began immediately, as the first set featured eight ties and four lead changes. With the score tied at 13-13, Marist went on a 5-1 run to open up an 18-14 edge. The Jaspers won four of the next five points to get back within 19-18, but the Red Foxes rallied to push their lead to 23-20. After Manhattan claimed the next two points to once again pull within one, 23-22, Marist reached set point on a kill by Courtney Shaw. The Jaspers fought off one opportunity before the Red Foxes closed out the frame, 25-23.
In the second set, Manhattan trailed 5-3 before a kill by Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.) started a 10-2 spurt that gave the Jaspers a 13-7 advantage. Marist rallied back, though, scoring nine of the next 12 points to force a 16-16 deadlock. After Manhattan regained the lead, 21-18, the Red Foxes scored five straight points to go up 23-21. The Red Foxes got to set point at 24-22, but a Marist error followed by a Peric kill evened the score at 24-24. However, Marist claimed the next two points to take the set, 26-24.
Marist jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the third set, but Manhattan responded with a 7-3 rally to even the score at 8-8. After the sides traded the next 10 points, the Red Foxes used a 3-0 spurt to turn a 14-14 deadlock into a 17-14 advantage. The Jaspers once again countered, though, and Manhattan took a 19-18 lead on a block by Anna Kitlar (Kiel, Germany) and Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.). With the Jaspers leading 20-19, Marist went on a 4-1 run to take a 23-21 edge, and the Red Foxes reached match point at 24-22.
However, Manhattan fought off both match point opportunities before getting a set point of its own when Peric smashed a kill to make it 25-24. The Jaspers only needed one chance to finish off the set, claiming a 26-24 win to stay alive in the match.
After seven early ties in the fourth set, the Red Foxes used a 5-0 run to open up a 15-12 advantage. The Jaspers immediately responded, though, as a kill by Ellie Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) started a 5-1 rally that gave Manhattan a 17-16 lead. Marist eventually tied it at 19-19 before a Volovski kill started a 5-0 spurt, and the Jaspers reached set point on a service ace by Sarah Haselhorst (Naperville, Ill.). Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) then pounded a kill to wrap up a 25-20 set win and send the match into a decisive frame.
The Red Foxes seized the early momentum in the final set, going on a 6-0 rally after Manhattan won the first point. However, the Jaspers fought back immediately, scoring seven of the next 10 points to pull within one at 9-8. Marist won the next two points to push its lead back to 11-8, and the Red Foxes got to match point again when a Mackenzie Stephens kill made it 14-12.
Unfazed, Wiekamp smacked a kill to keep the Jaspers alive, then teamed with Kitlar on a block that evened things up at 14-14. After another Wiekamp kill gave Manhattan its first match point at 15-14 before a kill for Marist's Audra Brady tied the score again. The Jaspers reached match point again on a Marist hitting error, and Manhattan capped the come-from-behind victory with a 17-15 set win. It marked Manhattan's first 2-0 comeback of the season, as well as the fifth time since the start of the 2011 campaign that the Jaspers won after dropping the first two sets.
Kitlar smashed 16 kills on .400 hitting while also posting seven blocks. Wiekamp had a double-double with 14 kills and 15 digs, while McGuinness tallied 11 kills and 13 digs. Peric also recorded a double-double, handing out 44 assists to go along with 17 digs. She added eight kills and hit .400 in the victory. Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) posted a team-high 26 digs for the Jaspers, who hit .169 (61 kills, 29 errors, 189 attempts) as a team.
Stephens, the MAAC leader in kills, had 27 to go along with eight blocks, including three solo stuffs. Shaw added 18 kills and Kelsey Lahey posted 10 kills, while Brady notched a double-double with 62 assists and 17 digs. Brooke Zywick finished with a match-high 27 digs, Gena Russo tallied 16 digs, and Lexi Millington returned 11 digs, as Marist outdug Manhattan 87-85. As a team, the Red Foxes hit .151 (74-41-218).
Manhattan, which is 1-0 in MAAC play for the fourth time in five years, continues its road trip with a 1 p.m. matchup at Siena (2-9, 1-0 MAAC) on Sunday. The Jaspers and Saints split the season series in 2012, with each side winning at home.