Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – On September 21, the Manhattan College volleyball team made history by winning at Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) rival Fairfield for the first time ever. On Sunday, the Jaspers made some more history against the Stags. Manhattan (19-11, 12-5 MAAC) topped Fairfield (15-11, 11-5 MAAC) 29-27, 25-22, 17-25, 20-25, 15-12 at Draddy Gymnasium to complete its first-ever regular season series sweep of the Stags.
The MAAC went to an 18-match double round robin format in 2006, and this marks the first time that Manhattan has won both regular season meetings against Fairfield in the same year. The only other time the Jaspers beat the Stags twice in the same season was 2003, when the second of those meetings took place in the MAAC Tournament.
“I think it's amazing,” Head Coach Mark Jones said about the series sweep. “Fairfield traditionally has a great program every year, and they went to the NCAA Tournament last year. I'm very proud of this program.”
Neither side was able to establish a cushion of more than three points in a first set that featured 18 ties and five lead changes. The Stags took an early 6-3 that Manhattan immediately countered with a 4-1 spurt that evened the score at 7-7. The Jaspers then had a three-point lead of their own at 13-10 before Fairfield scored four of the next five points to make it 14-14. Manhattan eventually reached set point at 24-22, but the Stags captured the next two points to force a 24-24 deadlock. The Jaspers had three more set point opportunities at 25-24, 26-25 and 27-26 before finally converting on their sixth, as Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) ripped a kill to finish off a 29-27 set win.
Manhattan jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the second set, but Fairfield responded by claiming 11 of the next 15 points to go up 15-13. The Jaspers countered with a 3-0 run to regain the lead, 16-15, before the Stags went on a 5-0 spurt to open up a 20-16 advantage. With Fairfield in front 21-17, Jade Gray (Boise, Idaho) was credited with a kill to start a 7-0 Manhattan rally that brought the Jaspers to set point. Gray then connected with McGuinness for a kill that closed out the set, 25-22, and gave Manhattan a 2-0 lead in the match.
There were 10 ties in the third set, and the lead changed hands four times. Fairfield broke a 15-15 deadlock on a block by Maddie FitzPatrick and Carsen Mata, sparking a 5-0 run that gave the Stags a 20-15 advantage. Fairfield ended up claiming the set by a 25-17 margin.
In the fourth set, the Stags raced out to a 4-1 lead before extending their cushion to 9-3 and 13-6. The Jaspers responded with a 6-2 run, though, pulling within three at 15-12 on a block by Marissa Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.). Leading 18-15, Fairfield went on a 3-1 spurt to bring its advantage back to five points at 21-16. The Stags won the fourth set 25-20 to force a decisive fifth frame.
Fairfield claimed the first two points of the fifth set before Manhattan rallied to take a 6-4 lead on a block by Gray and Behrens. The Stags held an 8-7 advantage at the side switch, when Behrens slammed a kill to force the fifth tie of the set. That started a 5-0 Manhattan run, as a Mary Donnelly (Temecula, Calif.) service ace put the Jaspers in front 12-8. The Jaspers got to match point at 14-10, and Volovski put away a kill to seal a 15-12 set win and clinch Manhattan's second five-set victory over Fairfield this season.
“We know that we can always come back,” Jones said. “The last time we played Fairfield, we had a great fifth set. That made us a little bit calmer out there, and the result is exactly what we needed.”
Gray just missed a triple-double for the Jaspers, finishing with nine kills, 49 assists and 11 digs. She also hit .533 in the victory. Claire Van Dyk (New Richmond, Wis.) slammed a team-high 17 kills to go along with 15 digs, while McGuinness also had a double-double with 16 kills and 14 digs. Volovski, meanwhile, tallied 14 kills. Behrens slammed eight kills on .357 hitting and added four blocks. Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) collected a team-high 27 digs and Sarah Haselhorst (Naperville, Ill.) registered 14 digs, as the Jaspers outdug the Stags 89-87. Manhattan hit .186 (66 kills, 30 errors, 194 attempts) as a team.
Caitlin Stapleton led Fairfield with 20 kills on .349 hitting. Hadley Orr finished with 18 kills and 14 digs, while Megan Theiller tallied 12 kills and 13 digs. Mata also had a double-double with 64 assists and 14 digs. Lindsay Weaver, meanwhile, contributed 14 kills on .385 hitting, and Camille Coffey contributed a match-high 32 digs. FitzPatrick recorded seven blocks for the Stags, as Fairfield held an 11-9 blocking advantage. As a team, Fairfield hit .206 (72-30-204) in the match.
Manhattan concludes the regular season by hosting Iona (7-21, 4-12 MAAC) at 1 p.m. on Saturday. With a victory over the Gaels, the Jaspers will guarantee themselves at least the No. 3 seed in the MAAC Tournament, as well as securing back-to-back 20-win seasons and matching last year's school-record of 13 conference wins.