Manhattan University Athletics

RIVERDALE, NY – After beginning the season with 10 straight away from home, the Manhattan College volleyball team finally took the court at Draddy Gymnasium for the first time on Wednesday night.  And the Jaspers enjoyed the comforts of the familiar setting.  Three players had double-doubles, as Manhattan (1-10, 1-0 MAAC) played its most complete match of the season, knocking off Iona (1-9, 0-1 MAAC) 25-14, 23-25, 25-21, 25-17 in its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener.

The Jasper offense came out firing, as Manhattan hit .400 (12 kills, two errors, 25 attempts) in the first set.  Three kills and a block by Ivana Kostic (Grocka, Serbia) and Olyvia Chaltas (Temecula, CA) highlighted a 4-0 run that gave the Jaspers a 7-3 lead, and Manhattan's advantage reached six points when a Kostic service ace made it 13-7.  After the Jaspers extended their cushion to 19-10, Iona went on a 4-1 spurt to pull within 20-14.  However, Manhattan ended the frame on a 5-0 run, and Milena Janjusevic (Belgrade, Serbia) slammed a kill to put away a 25-14 set win.

In the second set, the Jaspers pulled ahead 8-4 before Iona went on a 6-1 rally to go in front 10-9 and force a Manhattan timeout.  The Jaspers scored the next three points to regain the lead, 12-10, and Manhattan eventually opened up a five-point cushion at 21-26.  However, the Gaels countered with a 7-0 run to take a 23-21 advantage.  Iona took the set by a 25-23 count to even the match at one set apiece.

An early 4-1 Manhattan lead in the third set was extended to 7-3 on an Alyssa Rehrer (Lorton, VA) ace, but Iona responded with eight of the next 10 points to go up 11-9.  However, Janjusevic slammed a kill on the next point to start a 9-2 Manhattan rally that gave the Jaspers an 18-13 lead.  After Iona pulled within three at 20-17, Manhattan won four of the next five points to extend its cushion to 24-18.  The Gaels fought off three set points before the Jaspers closed out a 25-21 win on a kill by Chaltas.

Leading the match 2-1, the Jaspers opened up an 8-1 advantage early in the fourth set.  Iona got within two at 10-8, but a Sandra Lozanova (Pernik, Bulgaria) kill started an 11-5 Manhattan spurt that made it 21-13.  After three straight Iona points pulled the Gaels within five, 21-16, the Jaspers ended the match by scoring four of the final five points.  Janjusevic smashed a kill to wrap up the 25-17 set win and Manhattan's fifth straight match victory over Iona.

Janjusevic tallied 14 kills and 13 digs to pace the Manhattan effort.  Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, HI) had her first career double-double with 12 assists and 25 digs, while Zoe Lindsey (McHenry, IL) also notched the first double-double of her career with 39 assists and 12 digs.  She added five kills without an error for a .500 hitting percentage.  Kostic recorded eight kills on .400 hitting to go along with five blocks, and Marissa Behrens (Honolulu, HI) hit .438 with eight kills.  Lozanova, meanwhile, contributed 10 kills.  Chaltas finished with nine kills for the Jaspers, who hit a season-high .272 (55-18-136) as a team.  Manhattan also outdug Iona 64-53.

Claire Archibald led Iona with eight kills, and she added 10 digs.  Emma Rose had a double-double with 19 assists and 13 digs, while Kait Ferretti handed out eight assists.  Karly White, meanwhile, finished with six kills on .417 hitting to go along with four aces and five blocks.  As a team, Iona had 11 aces, and the Gaels hit a combined .098 (36-23-133) in the match.