PRINCESS ANNE, MD – The Manhattan Jaspers' Men's Volleyball program (9-15, 6-5 NEC) dropped its penultimate regular season match to the Hawks of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (16-10, 6-5 NEC) in four sets inside the Hytche Center on Friday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Looking to build upon its split with the NEC leader Saint Francis Red Flash, nearly two weeks prior, the Green and White were attempting to sneak into the postseason after a tumultuous two and a half weeks on the scoreboard.
• Tied at four in the opening set, the Hawks were able to capitalize on three of four offensive attempts before taking advantage of a Jasper miscue to double their lead.
• The Jaspers found their groove with back-to-back points, propelled by a towering block by Kai Patchell and Max Larcheid.
• Trailing by as much as eight, down the stretch, Manhattan put together three straight points to attempt a strong comeback, but fell short due to a service error.
• In the second set, trailing by two at 8-6, the Jaspers bounced back to tie the set at eight off a timely Hawks' miscue.
• After the Hawks went ahead by three, the Green and White stormed back with five consecutive points and went ahead, propelled by Owens and Blake Perkins.
• Manhattan fell behind by one before the two programs traded points again, and brought its deficit to just one at 21-20. The Hawks would go on a four-point run to close out the second set.
• In the third set, with no margin for error, the Jaspers went ahead, putting together four of the first five points.
• Tied at nine, Owens kick-started a comeback to leapfrog the Hawks by four. Then, two blocks by UMES brought Manhattan's lead to just one, before Perkins' termination put a 20-spot on the board for the visitors.
• Four of the next five put the Jaspers one point shy of taking the third set, before Blonski's kill put Manhattan on the board in the set column.
• In the fourth set, the Jaspers started with a 9-6 edge, before the Hawks tied the match at 10 apiece. With the lead at one, 14-13, UMES went on a six-point run to solidify a four-point edge and not allow Manhattan to regain any ground.

STATS AND NOTES

• Max Larcheid paced the Green and White with 10 kills on 17 attempts for a second-best .412 hitting percentage, while adding five blocks and two digs for 13 points on the evening.
• Kasen Owens added 11 kills on 32 attempts, with one set assist, and eight digs for 11 points.
• Blake Perkins joined the fray with eight kills on 22 attempts, one block, and four digs to total 8.5 points.
• Wojtek Nowak produced six kills on 29 attempts, with five set assists, one ace, and 12 digs for seven points.
• Jovan Marjanovic capitalized his six kills on 11 attempts to supply the Jaspers with a team high .455 hitting percentage, with one ace, and three digs for seven points.
• Drew Blonski continued to be multi-dimensional with 39 set assists, four kills on nine attempts, two blocks, and five digs to total five points on the night.
• As a unit, the Jaspers led the game with 43 team digs, compared to the Hawks' 42.

NEXT UP:

The Jaspers continue their chase for the postseason and conclude their inaugural regular season tomorrow, Saturday, April 18, when the Green and White finish their two-match series against the Hawks of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, from inside the Hytche Center, beginning at 2 p.m. The match can be viewed on Delmarva Sports Network with a paid subscription.

Follow Manhattan Men's Volleyball on X and Instagram (@ManhattanMVBall).