RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Manhattan College volleyball team (15-9) begins a stretch of three matches in four days on Thursday, when Hampton (13-9) comes to Draddy Gymnasium for the Jaspers' final non-conference contest of the season. The Jaspers (8-4 MAAC) then conclude their road schedule by visiting the top two teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) standings this weekend. Manhattan heads to Albany for a 1 p.m. matchup with Siena (10-13, 8-3 MAAC) on Saturday before meeting first-place Marist (19-3, 11-1 MAAC) in Poughkeepsie at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Manhattan, which returns home for the only time in a five-match stretch, is coming off a 3-1 victory at Niagara on Sunday. Senior Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) has recorded 20 or more kills in four of her last five outings and is the current MAAC Player of the Week. She leads the league with 3.64 kills per set and ranks ninth in the league with 3.67 digs per set. Sophomore Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) recorded her 1,000th career dig against Canisius on Saturday. She paces the conference with 4.99 digs per set, as Manhattan averages 17.99 digs per set as a team, which ranks third in the nation. Junior Jade Gray (Boise, Idaho) hands out 6.98 assists per set.
Hampton has won eight out of nine, including its last three. The Lady Pirates notched a 3-0 win over Morgan State on Sunday. Senior Vendula Strakova, an Honorable Mention All-American last season, is the NCAA leader in kills (475). She also ranks second nationally in kills per set (5.59) and leads Hampton with 2.66 digs per set. Senior Kitija Megne distributes 10.73 assists per set, while senior Marija Kocevska registers 0.78 blocks per set to lead the team.
Siena, which hosts Fairfield on Wednesday night, dropped a 3-1 decision to Marist on Saturday. Junior Meghann Wright slams a team-high 2.93 kills per set and senior Rachel Stoklosa adds 2.32 kills per set. Freshman Samantha Pethokoukis records 1.11 blocks per set and senior Jacqueline Skeen tallies 1.08 blocks per set, while sophomore Bobbi Lin Kalama paces the Saints with 4.10 digs per set. Sophomore Haley Howell, meanwhile, leads the league with 10.23 assists per set.
The victory over Siena was Marist's fifth straight win and 15th in its last 16 matches. The Red Foxes host Iona on Saturday. Junior Kelsey Lahey paces Marist with 2.82 kills per set, while junior Courtney Shaw slams 2.75 kills per set and ranks second in the MAAC with a .318 hitting percentage. Senior Mackenzie Stephens, the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, averages 2.40 kills and 1.24 blocks per set. Sophomore Amanda Schlegel distributes 10.21 assists per set to go along with 0.47 service aces per set, and sophomore Lexi Millington leads the league with 0.56 aces per set. Senior Brooke Zwyick records 3.94 digs per set.
Both the Saints and Red Foxes notched 3-0 victories over the Jaspers earlier this season at Draddy Gymnasium. Manhattan has never faced Hampton.
