TEANECK, NJ – The Manhattan Jaspers' Men's Volleyball program (4-10, 2-1 NEC) took down the Knights of FDU (6-6, 0-1 NEC) in four sets (16-25, 25-21, 27-25, 25-16) inside Bogota Savings Bank Center on Friday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After the Jaspers split with Daemen last weekend, the Green and White came roaring back to the metropolitan area with a vengeance.
- To open the match, the Jaspers fell behind by double-digits, before the Green and White put together six straight points down the stretch with a key block from Max Larcheid, and an ace from Sam Morreale.
- In the second set tied at five, Manhattan buckled down and found the scoreboard for five of the next six points to go ahead of FDU by as much as four.
- The Jaspers then found their footing more consistently with a towering block from Jovan Marjoanovic to give the Jaspers a commanding six-point advantage.
- With the Knights threatening, and Manhattan only leading by two at 21-19, it was Kai Patchell and Larcheid who combined for one of the team's 13 blocks to post set point, with the former putting the second set away and splitting the match at one.
- Manhattan continued in the third set, but trailing by as much as four, 10-6. The turning point of the set came 10 points later with the Jaspers trailing 15-12, and they capitalized on Knight miscues.
- The block party continued for the Green and White with Nowak and Larcheid tying the set at 16, before Nowak was set up perfectly from Blonski for the lead.
- Both teams would vie for the remaining points by trading until the score was tied at 23.
- With the score in favor of FDU 24-23, the Jaspers fended off the Knights with four of the next five points, before Larcheid and Nowak sent the Jaspers to the fourth set with yet another towering block at 27-25.
- Tied at six in the fourth set, the Jaspers sprung three straight points on the Knights with kills from Patchell and Nowak.
- Manhattan then continued to expand its lead to as much as five before clicking into overdrive down the stretch and logging seven of the next nine to claim victory on the road.
STATS AND NOTES
- Kai Patchell paced the Green and White with 13 kills on 28 attempts for a team-high .357 hitting percentage. Patchell added one set assist, four blocks, and three digs for a team high 15 points.
- Kasen Owens logged 11 kills on 31 attempts with one service ace, one block, and three digs for 12.5 points on the night.
- Wojtek Nowak posted nine kills on 26 attempts with an ace, three blocks, and two digs to total 11.5 points.
- Drew Blonski posted 35 set assists with three kills on six attempts, with one block, and five digs to total 3.5 points on the afternoon.
- Max Larcheid continued his strong stretch on the court with four kills on eight attempts, with one set assist, three solo blocks, seven block assists, and one dig.
- The Jaspers put together a total of 61 points, compared to the Knights' 60. Both teams logged four aces each, while the Green and White stood tall with a combined 13 blocks, as opposed to FDU's seven.
- In the fourth set, Manhattan posted its best fourth set hitting percentage through the program's first 14 games with a clip of .435.
QUOTES FROM THE JASPERS:
Head Coach Chris Schortgen: "Tonight's win against FDU was a great comeback for us after losing the first set with that slow start. After that, our blocking locked in, and Max Larcheid had a program-record blocking night with 3 solos and 7 block assists, which was huge for our front-line defense and made it easier to play behind for our back row. Our strong serving night helped keep their middles out of play, and Kai Patchell had a great night on the oppo, giving us the production we needed to get a balanced team win."
NEXT UP:
The Jaspers return home against the Knights of FDU tomorrow, Saturday, March 7, inside Draddy Gymnasium beginning at 1 p.m. The contest can be viewed on NEC Front Row for free.
Follow Manhattan Men's Volleyball on X and Instagram (@ManhattanMVBall).
