RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? The Manhattan College volleyball team (5-12, 4-4 MAAC) enters this weekend's action looking to buck a recent trend. The Lady Jaspers have alternated wins and losses in their last nine matches, winning the last in straight sets at Niagara last Sunday. Manhattan, which hasn't won consecutive matches all season, looks for its second straight win at Marist (8-13, 3-5 MAAC) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the conclusion of a five-match road trip. The Lady Jaspers return home to face Siena (8-10, 6-2 MAAC) at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Manhattan enters the weekend in sixth place in the MAAC standings. Sherryta Stokes (Beltsville, Md.) earned MAAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors after averaging 4.17 kills, 4.75 points and 2.25 digs per set while hitting .360 against FDU, Canisius and Niagara last week. She is second in the MAAC with team-leading averages of 3.31 kills and 3.68 points per set. Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) paces the Lady Jaspers with 3.42 digs per set and Alyssa Getzel (Richmond, Va.) distributes 7.87 assists per set. Bridget Call (Roberts, Wisc.) made her first career start at setter in the first Marist match and dished out 32 assists.
Marist trails the Lady Jaspers by one loss in the conference standings. The Red Foxes had a two-match winning streak snapped with a loss at Siena last Sunday. Joanna Foss and Alexandra Schultze each average 3.28 kills per set, the third-highest total in the MAAC, and rank third and fourth, respectively, in points. Foss averages 3.60 points per set and Schultze averages 3.54. Lindsey Schmid paces the MAAC with 0.48 service aces per set and Dawn Jan leads the league with 9.83 assists per set. Kelsey Schaefer posts a team-high 2.73 digs per set. The Lady Jaspers swept the Red Foxes when the teams met in Riverdale two weeks ago.
Siena saw its six-match winning streak come to an end with a loss at Fairfield last Sunday. The Saints were swept by Albany in their last match on Wednesday night. Burgandy McCurty shared MAAC Offensive Player of the Week honors with Stokes. She has won the award in four consecutive weeks and five times this season. McCurty leads the MAAC in kills (4.18 kps), points (4.64 pps) and hitting percentage (.334). April London ranks third in the league in assists, dishing out 9.32 per set. Kathi Kobiyashi is the team leader with 2.97 digs per set, while Kau'i Robello leads the Saints with 189 total digs. Siena posted a 3-0 victory over Manhattan in Loudonville on Sept. 28.
Following this weekend's action, Manhattan is back on the road for three straight before playing five consecutive home conference matches to start November.
