RIVERDALE, NY – The Manhattan Jaspers' Men's Volleyball program (7-11, 4-1 NEC) rolled against the Saints of D'Youville University (2-16, 0-5 NEC) in straight sets (25-23, 25-22, 25-18) inside Draddy Gymnasium on Friday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Jaspers and Saints both opened the game trading points, before D'Youville found rhythm with three straight of its own.
- Responding quickly were the Green and White, trailing by two at 22-20, posting the next five of six in commanding fashion with two service aces from Kasen Owens to take the opening set.
- Manhattan started the second set slower than they wanted, with a deficit by as much as six. With the score 12-6 in favor of the Saints, the block party officially jump-started Manhattan's eventual second set comeback with Xander Horst leading the way in the middle to bring his team's deficit back to just two.
- The Saints went back ahead by three, 16-13, before Manhattan collectively put the team ahead by two, posting eight of the next 10, before Owens put the stanza to rest with a booming kill for a two-set advantage.
- With the opposition ahead 11-10 and continuing to show resiliency, the Jaspers put their engines into overdrive. They converted nine of the next 11 possible points to take the Saints out of contention and put them up by six.
- Down the stretch, a team effort from Owens, Nowak, and Horst highlighted the team's rejuvenation for a seven-point third set victory.
STATS AND NOTES
- Junior outside hitter Wojtek Nowak paced the Green and White with 16.5 points off 12 kills on 23 attempts, with one set assist, two service aces, a combined four blocks, and four digs.
- Sophomore outside hitter Kasen Owens logged 13 kills on 22 attempts, with one set assist, two aces, one block, and seven digs.
- Freshman setter Drew Blonski supplied 39 set assists with one kill on three attempts, while adding one ace, one block, and four digs for 2.5 points added to the scoresheet.
- Freshman middle blocker Xander Horst registered five kills on nine attempts, with a combined seven blocks.
- Freshman middle blocker Max Larcheid added eight kills on 12 attempts for a team-leading .583 hitting percentage, with one block for 8.5 points.
- The Jaspers posted six aces while leading the game in every major category. The Green and White posted 60 points, compared to 43.5 for the Saints. 44 kills, compared to 35, 10 blocks, 42 set assists, and 22 digs on the day.
NEXT UP:
The Jaspers continue their series against the Saints of D'Youville University tomorrow, Saturday, March 21, beginning at 4 p.m. inside Draddy Gymnasium. The contest can be viewed for free on NECFrontRow.com.
Follow Manhattan Men's Volleyball on X and Instagram (@ManhattanMVBall).
