MIAMI SHORES, FL – The Manhattan Jaspers' Men's Volleyball program (6-11, 3-1 NEC) took down the Buccaneers of Barry University (14-5) in five sets (25-19, 25-22, 21-25, 26-28, 15-10) inside the Health and Sports Center on Monday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Jaspers came out in the back end of the two-game series at Barry with a vengeance, posting six of the first eight points.
- After the Buccaneers responded with back-to-back points, the Jaspers went on a tear behind Kai Patchell's two kills to extend their team's lead to as much as six.
- Once the Green and White settled in, so did the Buccaneers with five straight points to narrow its lead to just one at 16-15.
- Down the stretch, Manhattan took advantage of four Barry miscues to combine with a highlighted Marjanovic and Blonski block to secure the first set by six.
- In the second set, the Green and White put on an encore performance, scoring 13 of the first 17 points, backed by six straight points. Five of the six were Barry errors, along with a Kasen Owens service ace.
- The Jaspers doubled up the Buccaneers 20-10, before Barry logged 10 of the next 12 to shrink Manhattan's lead to just two.
- With the score 22-20, a towering block by Blonski and Marjanovic altered the course of the second stanza to put the Jaspers back in front by three.
- Both teams ended up trading points behind a Kasen Owens kill to secure the second set.
- In the third set with the Jaspers trailing 17-12, Wojtek Nowak put together back-to-back terminations to narrow the lead to just two.
- Manhattan found a way to shrink the lead back to two before Barry posted the final two points of the set to get on the board.
- In the fourth set, the Buccaneers leapt ahead of the Jaspers by three at 9-6, before three Barry miscues brought the game even.
- The pair of programs traded points until 16-16, when the Jaspers found rhythm with six of the next seven, courtesy of the block party continuing from Larcheid and Nowak at 22-17.
- There was no surrendering for the Buccaneers, as they responded with nine of the next 12, then took the next four of five and secured the fourth set 28-26.
- After forcing a fifth set, the Jaspers and Barry continued going back and forth, and tied at nine.
- Manhattan then put together five of the next six points in its favor behind two blocks and one monstrous kill from Larcheid to propel the Jaspers over the Buccaneers in five.
STATS AND NOTES
- Sophomore outside hitter Kasen Owens logged another double-double against the Buccaneers with 11 kills and 12 digs, with 23 total attempts and a hitting clip of .304. Owens added four set assists and three service aces to total 14 points.
- Junior outside hitter Wojtek Nowak continued his red-hot play with another 13 kills on 32 attempts. Nowak added six blocks, one service ace, and nine digs for 17.5 points.
- Freshman middle blocker Max Larcheid led the Jaspers in numerous categories with 17 kills on 22 attempts for a team-high .773 hitting percentage. Larcheid also posted six blocks, one ace, and three digs for a team high 21 points.
- Freshman middle blocker Jovan Marjanovic posted eight kills on 18 attempts, with two aces, six blocks, and two digs for 13 points.
- Freshman setter Drew Blonski registered 49 set assists, with four kills on eight attempts. Blonski also added one service ace, six block assists, and six digs for eight points.
- Freshman opposite Kai Patchell added eight kills on 26 attempts, with two blocks and one dig for nine points.
- The Jaspers scored 83.5 points, compared to Barry's 80.5. From the service line, the Green and White led the game with nine aces. Additionally, Manhattan led the way with 13 team blocks.
- From a percentage perspective, Manhattan led the way in the first and fifth sets with .478 as a team, while outdoing their first set total with a whopping .563 hitting percentage with 11 kills on 16 attempts with just two errors.
QUOTES FROM THE JASPERS
Head Coach Chris Schortgen: "Today's five-set win was a hard-fought battle and a great test for our team. Our guys made great adjustments from our first match against them and stepped up when we needed to most. Max Larcheid delivered another great performance with Drew Blonski finding our hitters in great positions to score."
NEXT UP:
The Jaspers return to Draddy Gymnasium on Friday, March 20th, when the Green and White play host to the Saints of D'Youville University for a 7 p.m. start. The contest can be viewed for free on NECFrontRow.com.
Follow Manhattan Men's Volleyball on X and Instagram (@ManhattanMVBall).
