During the match, the team will honor a family affiliated with Friends of Karen, a nonproft organization that provides vital and comprehensive support, at no cost, to families in the New York Tri-State region who are caring for a child battling cancer or another life-threatening illness. Manhattan volleyball will also be raising funds through a ticket raffle and t-shirt sales. Love Your Melon, an apparel brand dedicated to giving a hat to every child battling cancer and supporting the fight against pediatric cancer, will take part in the day, as well.
Saturday's match will the first in a two-day Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) homestand for Manhattan, who will also take on Canisius at 1:00 pm on Sunday.
Match Notes:
- Manhattan (0-15, 0-4 MAAC) is still vying for the team's first win of the season. In the last two outings, the Jaspers fell to reigning MAAC champions Fairfield and Quinnipiac on the road, each match in three sets.
- In their last match-up with Niagara, on October 29, 2017, the Jaspers fell to the Purple Eagles in three sets. Sandra Lozanova (Pernik, Bulgaria / Fresno State) paced the Jaspers with seven kills while adding eight digs.
- Manhattan last faced Canisius on October 28, 2017, also losing in three. Jasper middle blocker Meagan Miller (Oakville, Ontario / Oakville Trafalgar) had three kills, 2.5 blocks and one ace to lead the way for Manhattan.
- Last week, freshman hitter Vivian Donovan (Newport Beach, CA / Newport Harbor) led Manhattan in kills, earning 17 total and team-highs in kills against both Fairfield and Quinnipiac. She is the team's kills leader in MAAC play at 19. Donovan also earned a career-high 10.5 points against the Stags on Saturday, with seven kills and three service aces. She totaled five aces for the week, also a team high.
- After last weekend's matches, Jaspers sophomore Erin Hoener (St. Louis, MO / Incarnate Word) has 102 blocks for her career and leads the team with 32 overall this season. She remains ranked 10th in the MAAC with 0.74 digs per set.
- Manhattan's Alyssa Rehrer (Lorton, VA / South County) finished Sunday's match vs. Quinnipiac with 21 assists and nine digs, just one dig off another double-double after earning the first of her career Saturday at Fairfield. Rehrer now has 1,232 digs for her career, just five short of tying Alison Lind (1993-1996) for seventh place on the program's all-time digs list at 1,237.
- Niagara (2-11, 2-2 MAAC) is coming into the weekend's matches following a five-set victory over Saint Peter's on September 23. In that match, Caroline Leitch led the Purple Eagles in kills with 19, which ties her career-high, and Jaycie Roberts led the team with a season-high 19 digs and finished with 11 kills.
- Niagara's other MAAC win came at Siena, when the Purple Eagles took the match in four sets. Leitch led the Purple Eagles with a .733 hitting percentage, tying her career-high, while teammate Cameron Maris had a career-best six total blocks, while also recording a career-high 10 kills.
- Leitch leads the Purple Eagles with 109 kills this season, while setter Jessica Streuer sits at 298 assists so far this year.
- Canisius volleyball (5-8, 3-1 MAAC) has won three-straight matches, including defeating Siena, Saint Peter's, and Rider. The Golden Griffins' Leah Simmons and Sofia Lopez Acosta were both recognized as MAAC Players of the Week this past Tuesday, with Simmons named Player of the Week, and Lopez Acosta taking home Libero of the Week.
- Simmons totaled 16 kills and two blocks in the Golden Griffins match vs. Saint Peter's. She added a team-high 11 kills against Rider, where she also recorded three digs. She has now recorded double-digit kills in four of the team's last five matches.
- Lopez Acosta earned 20 digs in her team's victory over the Peacocks, adding five assists and two service aces. She followed with 22 digs against the Broncs, also recording the assist on the match-winning point.