Box Score
RIVERDALE, NY – On Sunday afternoon, the Manhattan College volleyball team welcomed Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)-leading Fairfield to Draddy Gymnasium. Looking to carry the momentum of their five-set win over Quinnipiac, the Jaspers (9-18, 5-8 MAAC) gave the Stags all they could handle. However, Fairfield (20-5, 13-0 MAAC) came away with a 27-25, 25-15, 23-25, 27-25 victory at Draddy Gymnasium.
“I'm really proud of our effort today,” Head Coach Mark Jones said. “It kind of carried over from yesterday. We had little bit of a slow start, but I think we played very tough overall.”
Fairfield took a 4-1 lead early in the first set, and the Stags held that advantage for much of the opening stanza. The Stags reached set point at 24-21, but a Sandra Lozanova (Pernik, Bulgaria) kill, followed by consecutive blocks from Ivana Kostic (Grocka, Serbia) and Zoe Lindsey (McHenry, IL) brought the Jaspers even at 24-24. After Manhattan had a set point of its own at 25-24, Fairfield won the next three points to take the frame, 27-25.
The Stags then opened the second set on a 5-0 run and eventually extended that advantage to 11-5 before an Olyvia Chaltas (Temecula, CA) kill started a 6-1 Manhattan run that brought the Jaspers within one, 12-11. However, after the teams traded points, Fairfield ended the set on a 12-3 spurt to claim a 25-15 win and go up 2-0 in the match.
In the third set, Manhattan used a 9-2 run to turn a 5-3 deficit into a 12-7 lead. After an Alyssa Rehrer (Lorton, VA) service ace made it 19-15 in favor of the Jaspers, Fairfield rallied for seven of the next 10 points to knot the score at 22-22. The Jaspers claimed the next two points to go up 24-22, and Chaltas slammed a kill to give Manhattan the set, 25-23.
There were seven ties and three lead changes in the fourth set. Manhattan built an 11-8 cushion before Fairfield rallied to tie the score at 12-12. After the Jaspers reached set point at 24-22, the Stags countered with three straight to earn their first match point chance. Milena Janjusevic (Belgrade, Serbia) kept Manhattan alive with a kill that made it 25-25. However, a kill by Skyler Day gave Fairfield its second match point opportunity, and a kill by Megan Theiller finished off the set, 27-25, to secure the Stags' 24th consecutive victory over a MAAC opponent dating back to last season.
Lozanova, who had a career-high 17 kills in the win over Quinnipiac, followed up that performance with 16 kills on .310 hitting in Sunday's match. Kostic added 12 kills, while Janjusevic registered a double-double with 11 kills and 14 digs. Lindsey handed out 49 assists to go along with seven digs, and Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, HI) collected a match-best 23 digs. Rehrer, meanwhile, tallied three aces. As a team, Manhattan hit .171 (53 kills, 24 errors, 170 attempts) in the match.
Day posted 22 kills and 11 digs to pace the Stags. Theiller finished with 21 kills on .436 hitting, while Megan O'Sullivan had 13 kills and five blocks. Sydney Buckley also recorded a double-double with 29 assists and 19 digs, and Manuela Nicolini distributed 24 assists. Mallory Bechtold tallied 23 digs and Taylor Rudeen notched 10 digs, as Fairfield outdug Manhattan 78-61. Nora Quinn, meanwhile, notched six blocks. The Stags outblocked the Jaspers 11-5 and hit .281 (70-23-167) as a team.
Manhattan will play just once in the next 10 days, a 7 p.m. matchup at Iona (4-20, 2-9 MAAC) on Friday that will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The Jaspers notched a 3-0 victory over the Gaels when the squads met in Riverdale on Sept. 14.