CAMBRIDGE, MA – The Manhattan Jaspers' Men's Volleyball program (1-2, 0-0 NEC) took down the Crimson of Harvard University (1-4, 0-0 EIVA) in straight sets (25-18, 28-26, 25-23) inside the Malkin Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Posting the first couple of points were the Jaspers, courtesy of Kasen Owens and a Sam Morreale block, before Morreale killed a perfect set up from Drew Blonski to give the Jaspers a raucous two-point edge.
- Back and forth the Jaspers and Crimson went, until the Green and White found its groove with five of the next seven points.
- After the Crimson narrowed the Jaspers' lead to three, Manhattan rattled off a 6-0 scoring run, capitalizing on three Harvard errors and a Blake Perkins service ace for its largest lead of nine points.
- Down the stretch in the first set, Owens again put together back-to-back kills to re-extend its advantage to a match-high nine points, before putting together a first-set victory over Harvard.
- Opening the second set with a pair of points were the Crimson, before the Jaspers responded with five of the next seven, again to retake the lead and momentum.
- Battling adversity were the Jaspers after Harvard logged nine of the next 11 points to take a six-point stranglehold of the second set, before the pendulum swung back in favor of the Green and White, courtesy of a pair of Perkins service aces to cut its deficit to one point.
- Both teams went back and forth until the game was tied at 24, before Harvard was one point away from securing the second set. The Jaspers would not give in and posted four of the next five to take a second-set lead with three kills from Morreale and Owens.
- In the third set with Manhattan leading 6-5, the Crimson leapt over the Jaspers with a pair of kills, before the Jaspers bounced back with six of the next seven points to take a four-point edge.
- Just three points away from the program's first victory, the Jaspers would not be off the hook easily, as the Crimson tied the match at 22 with four straight points coming down the stretch.
- With the score tied, it was Kai Patchell who came through with a timely kill after a perfect setup from Blonski gave the Jaspers their 23rd point.
- On match point, Kasen Owens, who led the Jaspers all day, fittingly sent the Jaspers to the program's first victory with a kill to solidify the series split.
STATS AND NOTES
- Freshman opposite hitter Blake Perkins paced the Jaspers with 14.5 points on the afternoon, with 10 kills in 18 attempts, and a match-high four service aces, with seven digs on the afternoon.
- Sophomore outside hitter Kasen Owens logged a match-high 13 kills on 33 attempts, with eight digs.
- Freshman middle blocker Sam Morreale supplied nine kills on 20 attempts, with one service ace, two blocks, and nine digs.
- Freshman setter Drew Blonski registered 35 set assists, with four kills on five attempts, two block assists, and five digs for a six-point afternoon.
- The Jaspers led the match with 58 points, compared to Harvard's 38, and showed their height with six blocks.
- Manhattan put together a .284 hitting percentage with 44 kills in 95 attempts, with a whopping .357 hitting percentage in the opening set of the match.
QUOTES FROM THE JASPERS
Head Coach Chris Schortgen: "Tonight's win is a great team win for our young guys on the second day of a back-to-back. Freshman outside
Sam Morreale got the start and did great in his debut. Freshman opposite hitter
Blake Perkins had a standout game, delivering four aces and hitting .444. We're proud of our team earning our program's first victory before our first home match next week."
NEXT UP:
The Jaspers are back in action on Friday, January 23, when the Green and White open its Draddy Gymnasium tenure and first-ever home match against the Lakers of Roosevelt University, beginning at 7 p.m. The contest can be viewed on ESPN+ with a paid subscription.
Follow Manhattan Men's Volleyball on X and Instagram (@ManhattanMVBall).
