Jaspers Conclude Hartford Invitational

Manhattan-Hartford Box Score |
Manhattan-Rhode Island Box Score

WEST HARTFORD, CT – On Saturday afternoon, the Manhattan College volleyball team wrapped up play at the Hartford Invitational with a pair of matches.  After falling behind 2-1, the Jaspers forced a decisive fifth set against host Hartford, but ultimately dropped a 25-14, 21-25, 25-17, 17-25, 15-3 decision to the Hawks (1-5).  Manhattan (0-7) then suffered a 25-23, 25-13, 25-21 loss to Rhode Island (3-3) at the Hawks Volleyball Gym.  Milena Janjusevic (Belgrade, Serbia) was named to the all-tournament team for her play in the three matches.

Against Hartford, Manhattan fell into an early 8-2 hole in the first set.  The Jaspers cut their deficit to 14-10 on a block by Olyvia Chaltas (Temecula, CA) and Kenza Hall (Oakland, CA), but the Hawks responded with eight straight points to increase their lead to 22-10.  Hartford took the opening set by a 25-14 count.

After the Jaspers went up 14-8 in the second set, Hartford rattled off seven of the next eight points to pull within one, 16-15.  However, Janjusevic smashed a kill on the next point to ignite a 6-1 rally that put Manhattan up 22-16.  A Chaltas kill brought the Jaspers to set point at 24-19, and she ripped another to cap off a 25-21 win that evened the match at one set apiece.

Hartford jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the third set, but Manhattan stormed back with eight of the next 12 points, trimming its deficit to two, 16-14, on a kill by Ivana Kostic (Grocka, Serbia).  The Hawks responded with a 6-0 run, though, to push their margin back to eight, 22-14, and Hartford took the set 25-17 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Manhattan's offense took over in the fourth set.  The Jaspers ripped 15 kills and hit .414 (three errors, 29 attempts) in the frame.  Manhattan used eight of those kills to open up a 16-5 advantage, and the Jaspers never trailed in the set, notching a 25-17 to force a decisive stanza.

However, the Jaspers were unable to carry their momentum into the final set, as Hartford scored the first 11 points of the frame.  The Hawks didn't commit a hitting error in the set, hitting .412 (seven kills, 17 attempts) in the 15-3 win that clinched the match.

Casey Monroe (Riverview, FL) led three Jaspers in double-figures with 12 kills.  Monroe also collected four blocks.  Janjusevic had a double-double with 10 kills and 15 digs, and Chaltas added 10 kills.  Kostic, meanwhile, posted five blocks and hit .615, slamming eight kills without an error in 13 attempts.  Zoe Lindsey (McHenry, IL) just missed a double-double with 39 assists and eight digs, while Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, HI) registered a match-high 22 digs.  Overall, Manhattan hit .089 (49-35-158) as a team.

For Hartford, Paulina Modestow led the way with 19 kills on .326 hitting.  Astrid Mangal recorded 37 assists and nine digs, and Montrashay Worley collected 11 digs to go along with three service aces.  Jordyn Kachmar added 15 digs, as the Hawks outdug the Jaspers 59-56.  As a team, Hartford hit .193 (47-20-140) in the match.

In the first set of the match against Rhode Island, Manhattan raced out to a 7-3 lead.  The Rams pulled within one at 8-7 before the Jaspers responded with a 13-3 spurt to go up 21-10.  After a Janjusevic kill gave Manhattan a 22-11 cushion, Rhode Island tallied 11 straight points to tie the score.  A Monroe kill stopped the run and put the Jaspers back in front, but the Rams secured the next three points to capture the set, 25-23.

With the second set knotted at 3-3, Rhode Island went on a 14-4 rally to open up a 17-7 advantage.  Manhattan got back within seven at 19-12, but the Rams countered with five straight to reach set point.  The Jaspers fought off one set point on a block by Kostic and Taylor Hasley (Memphis, TN) before Rhode Island closed out the frame, 25-13.

The Rams built another early lead in the third set, going up 8-2.  It was 13-6 Rhode Island when a block by Monroe and Marissa Behrens (Honolulu, HI) sparked a 13-5 Manhattan run that Behrens capped with a kill to give the Jaspers a 19-18 lead.  However, Rhode Island tallied the next five points to regain a 23-19 advantage, and the Rams clinched the match with a 25-21 third-set win.

Janjusevic tallied a team-best 11 kills against the Rams, while Chaltas contributed eight kills.  Behrens hit .625 in the match, notching eight kills without an error in eight attempts.  Lindsey handed out 19 assists to go along with seven digs, and Yamashiro collected a match-high 13 digs.  As a team, Manhattan hit .102 (31-20-108) in the match.

Audrey Castro had a double-double for the Rams with 13 kills and 12 digs.  Layne Self, meanwhile, notched eight kills on .615 hitting to go along with 12 blocks, as Rhode Island held a 16-4 blocking advantage.  The Rams also outdug the Jaspers 46-43, with Olivia Budinich registering nine digs.  Callan Kinnan recorded 34 assists, seven digs and five blocks for Rhode Island, which hit .310 (42-11-100) as a team.