ORANGEBURG, NY – The Manhattan Jaspers' Men's Volleyball program (2-6, 0-0 NEC) fell in straight sets (19-25, 22-25, 20-25) to the Chargers of Dominican University (3-6, 0-0 CACC) on Wednesday night inside the Hennessy Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Jaspers burst onto the scene in its first in-state match, just 21 miles separating Draddy Gymnasium from the Hennessy Center, with five of the first seven points won capitalizing on Charger errors but concluding the run with a Kai Patchell service ace.
- After responding with ten of the next 13 points in favor of the Chargers, the Green and White put together back-to-back kills courtesy of Jovan Marjanovic and Kasen Owens.
- With Manhattan trailing by eight, the Jaspers didn't give up and continued to prove their never-back-down mentality by tacking on five of the next six points to bring their deficit within just four.
- Onto the second set, trailing by one, both teams traded the first 22 points, tied at 11, until the Chargers put together a four-point scoring run, before the Jaspers capitalized on four of Dominican errors to shrink its margin to as little as two.
- Down the stretch of the second set, the Jaspers, again, took advantage of Charger miscues along with Owens' kill. But it was ultimately not enough as the Dominicans captured the next four of six points.
- In the third set, and trailing by as much as nine, 31 points in, Blake Perkins joined the party to capture his first kill of the night.
- The Jaspers, now trailing by seven, were able to slowly fight their way back with Jovan Marjanovic and Sam Morreale's kills, followed by Drew Blonski's service ace to make things interesting down the stretch.
- Manhattan continued to keep on battling by standing tall with a pair of block assists in the middle of the net to cut the Chargers' lead to four.
STATS AND NOTES
- Kasen Owens paced the Jaspers with 10 kills on 27 attempts, with two set assists, one block solo, and three digs for a team high 11 points on the night.
- Kai Patchell logged seven kills on 21 attempts, with one service ace, one block assist, and a team high seven digs for eight and a half points.
- Drew Blonski registered 27 set assists, with one service ace, one block assist, and had five digs on the night.
- The Jaspers and Chargers both posted four team aces and four blocks. As the match went on, the Jaspers' hitting percentage increased gradually.
NEXT UP:
The Jaspers head to the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday, February 6th, and Saturday, February 7th, to take on the Patriots of George Mason University for a 6 p.m. and 2 p.m. start, respectively, from inside the Recreation Athletic Complex. The matches can be viewed on ESPN+ with a paid subscription.
Follow Manhattan Men's Volleyball on X and Instagram (@ManhattanMVBall).
