Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Once again, the Manhattan College volleyball team saved its best volleyball for the fifth set on Sunday afternoon. After dropping the fourth set, the Jaspers (10-7, 4-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) hit a combined .391 (10 kills, one error, 23 attempts) in the final frame to notch a 22-25, 25-17, 25-18, 14-25, 15-6 victory over Quinnipiac (2-13, 0-3 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium. With the win, their third straight, the Jaspers maintained their hold on second place in the MAAC standings.
The Jaspers took control of the fifth set with an early 6-0 rally. Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) slammed a kill to break a 1-1 tie, and the lead eventually reached 7-1 on a kill by Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii). After Quinnipiac trimmed its deficit to 8-4, another McGuinness kill sparked a 3-0 run that pushed Manhattan's advantage to 11-4. Anna Kitlar (Kiel, Germany) smashed a kill to bring the Jaspers to match point, and Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.) ended it when her serve hit the top of the net and landed for an ace. McGuinness had five kills in the final set, which Manhattan won by a 15-6 margin.
“We just came out of the gates firing (in the fifth set),” Head Coach Mark Jones said. “We got a couple of points in the beginning, and then Anna served really tough and we got some great defense. At the switch (of sides), we found ourselves way ahead, and we just kept siding out. We were able to put the ball away, especially on match point.”
Quinnipiac scored the first five points of the match and led the first set throughout. Manhattan pulled back within one at 9-8 before the Bobcats went on a 5-2 run to extend their cushion to 14-10. The Jaspers again chipped away, once again trimming their deficit to one point when a block by Juliana Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) made it 14-13, but Quinnipiac scored six of the next nine points to push the margin back to four, 20-16. After Manhattan once again got within one point at 21-20, the Bobcats ended the set on a 4-2 spurt to claim a 25-22 win.
In the second set, Manhattan used an early 7-1 rally to turn a 2-1 deficit into an 8-3 lead. The Jaspers eventually extended their advantage to 18-9 on a McGuinness kill, but Quinnipiac responded with a 7-3 spurt to make it 21-16 and prompt a Manhattan timeout. McGuinness smacked a kill following the timeout, then served an ace. After an Ellie Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) kill brought Manhattan to set point, Behrens put away a kill to finish off the set, 25-17.
After the sides traded early runs in the third set, the Jaspers went on a 10-2 spurt to open up a 14-8 advantage. The Bobcats pulled within four at 17-13 before a McGuinness kill sparked a 6-2 rally that extended Manhattan's lead to 23-15. The Jaspers took the third set by a 25-18 count to pull ahead 2-1 in the match.
There were five ties in the first 10 points of the fourth set before Quinnipiac used a 3-0 rally to open up an 8-5 lead. After Manhattan scored the next two points to make it 8-7, the Bobcats responded by taking 11 of the next 14 points, extending their cushion to 19-10. The Jaspers claimed the next two points to cut their deficit to 19-12, but Quinnipiac quickly responded with four points of its own. The Bobcats notched a 25-14 fourth-set victory to send the match into a decisive frame.
“I think we're very fortunate to come away with a win today,” Jones said. “We showed a lot of resiliency in the fifth set and got the W.”
McGuinness pounded a match-high 17 kills and added 12 digs to complete a double-double. Wiekamp also had a double-double with 12 kills nad 15 digs, while Kitlar registered 10 kills. Peric handed out 38 assists, and Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) recorded 15 digs, as the Jaspers outdug the Bobcats 69-64. Behrens contributed six blocks in the victory. As a team, Manhattan hit .189 (57-27-159) in the match.
Chandler Thornton and Jamie Paolucci tallied 12 kills apiece to lead the Bobcats. Allison Leigh added 11 kills and five blocks, while Tanner Celestin had nine kills and three service aces. Logan Riker collected a match-high 20 digs, and Emma Ogden distributed 44 assists. The Bobcats hit .110 (52-34-163) as a team.
Manhattan is back on the road next weekend for its annual Buffalo trip. The Jaspers visit Niagara (1-14, 0-4 MAAC) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, then head to Canisius (4-11, 2-2 MAAC) for a 1 p.m. matchup on Sunday.