Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – After dropping the first set, the Manhattan College volleyball team (18-11, 11-5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) dominated the next three, posting a 21-25, 25-6, 25-15, 25-14 victory over Quinnipiac (2-26, 0-15 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. It was the Jaspers' third straight victory.
“I was happy with the way we bounced back after losing the first set,” Head Coach Mark Jones said. “It was important to keep our composure and finish strong. And I think we did that.”
Manhattan jumped out to an early 10-5 lead in the first set, but Quinnipiac scored five of the next six points to pull within one, 11-10. After a kill by Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) put the Jaspers up 14-12, the Bobcats used a 6-0 rally to take an 18-14 advantage. Quinnipiac eventually extended the margin to five points at 21-16, and took the set by a 25-21 count.
The Jaspers quickly recovered in the second set, racing out to a 7-1 cushion. Claire Van Dyk (New Richmond, Wis.) slammed back-to-back kills to extend the lead to 13-4, then served consecutive aces to start a 6-0 rally that made it 21-5. An ace by Mary Donnelly (Temecula, Calif.) finished off a 25-6 win in a set in which the Jaspers hit a combined .588 (11 kills, one error, 17 attempts) as a team.
In the third set, the Jaspers again built an early lead, scoring four straight points after Quinnipiac took the first point of the frame. The Bobcats trimmed their deficit to one at 7-6 before a 9-3 Manhattan run extended the margin to seven at 16-9. After Quinnipiac scored the next three points to pull within four, 16-12, a Van Dyk kill started a 4-0 rally that gave Manhattan a 20-12 edge. She then wrapped up a 25-15 win with her seventh kill of the stanza. The Jaspers continued their solid hitting in the third set, notching a .364 (16-4-33) percentage.
A Volovski kill gave Manhattan a 6-3 lead in the first set before Quinnipiac rallied to force an 8-8 deadlock. With the Jaspers leading 12-11, Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) pounded a kill to start a 4-0 run that made it 16-11. A kill by Van Dyk then started a 6-0 spurt that turned a 17-13 lead into a 10-point, 23-13 advantage. Kelsey LaCour (Walnut Creek, Calif.) then slammed a kill to seal a 25-14 set win that clinched a 3-1 match victory.
Van Dyk smashed a match-high 19 kills and hit .308 in the victory. She also collected 13 digs and served two aces. McGuinness had a double-double of her own with 12 kills and 18 digs, while Volovski tallied 10 kills. Clare Bozzo (Salinas, Calif.) added five kills without an error in 10 attempts, hitting .500 to go along with three blocks. Jade Gray (Boise, Idaho) distributed 46 assists, and Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) finished with 10 digs and three aces. Manhattan outdug Quinnipiac 54-38 and hit .300 (54-18-120) as a team.
Elizabeth Kloos led the Bobcats with 10 kills on .348 hitting. Sierra Dawson handed out 28 assists, and Cheyenne Orsi recorded six blocks. Chandler Thornton, Cody Michaels and Nicole Milillo paced Quinnipiac with eight digs apiece. As a team, Quinnipiac hit .042 (30-25-119) in the match.
On Sunday, Manhattan hosts Fairfield (15-10, 11-4 MAAC) in a key matchup for MAAC positioning at 1 p.m. The second-place Stags hold a half-game advantage over the Jaspers in the standings, but Manhattan posted a 3-2 victory when the squads met in Connecticut on Sept. 21.