Manhattan University Athletics

RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Manhattan drops home game against NJIT 3-0, the final set scores being 25-19, 25-19, and 25-15.

Manhattan looked strong in the first set after they came back from a four-point deficit and tie up the set at 7-7 off a kill from Kelly Markowski. This kill led to a four-point run to make the score 10-7 Jaspers. The first set was full of three and four-point runs for each team making it very exciting. Towards the end of the set, the Jaspers closed in on NJIT and cut the lead down to three points, 22-19. Unfortunately, the Highlanders would earn a kill, giving them the momentum to go on a three-point run to win the game 25-19.

The second set looked shaky for the Jaspers in the beginning, with the Highlanders scoring the first three points putting the Jaspers down 3-0. However, Manhattan was able to answer back and get right back in the set when they benefited from a NJIT attack error, followed by a service ace by Teresa Garza. After this, the Islanders were able to get hot and score the next seven out of eight points. For the remainder of the set, Manhattan was able to chip away at NJIT's lead but ultimately lost the set 25-19 again. 

NJIT walked away with the third set due to their potent offense. Despite this, Manhattan still put up a valiant effort, with Markowski even kicking the ball to keep it in play after receiving a bad set. 

The leaders of Manhattan's offense were Julia Menocal with 14 kills and Julianne McKee with 13 assists. The defense was once again led by the freshman Garza who had 13 digs, the most between both teams.

The Jaspers will play again this weekend on Saturday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m. against Niagara.