PROVIDENCE, RI – The Manhattan Jaspers Women's Volleyball team (0-9), in their final day at the Friar Classic, first lost to the Crusaders from Holy Cross (5-5) in four sets (25-18, 24-26, 25-27, 18-25) and later to the Skyhawks from Stonehill (3-8) in four sets (23-25, 25-22, 19-25, 20-25) inside Alumni Hall on Saturday morning and afternoon.
MATCH ONE: Manhattan 1, Holy Cross 3
- Opening the match were the Jaspers, as Hanna Kaczynska's kill got the day's scoring underway.
- Three straight kills from Manhattan were capped off by Katie Powers, giving the Green and White a 7-4 edge.
- A service ace from Emilia Kuzniar kept the same pace, with the lead now at 13-10.
- With Holy Cross trimming it down to 16-14, a 9-4 surge from the Jaspers took the opening set.
- Flipping the script for the second stanza, the Crusaders captured nine of the first 12 points.
- Manhattan used a 9-5 run, including five kills from Powers, to trim Holy Cross' lead to 14-12 midway through.
- Later falling down 17-13, another stretch, this time coming at 9-2, ended in a 22-19 advantage after another service ace from Kuzniar and a kill coming from Emma Francesconi.
- A dual block from Brooke Johnson and Abby Morreale tied the second at 24-all, but Holy Cross took the last two points to secure a 1-1 tie.
- Coming out hot in the third, three unanswered early including an ace from Francesconi put the Jaspers up 6-4.
- The Crusaders used a 6-1 run to take the lead back at 11-8.
- Four unanswered, with back-to-back kills from Morreale, put the Green and White back on top in the third at 13-12.
- The lead was extended to 17-15 at one point, Manhattan's largest lead since 7-5.
- Once again, the Jaspers found themselves in a tie late in the set, this time at 25-25, before the Crusaders scored two in a row and took a 2-1 set lead.
- Francesconi and Kaczynska each registered two kills through the first six points of set four, as Manhattan tok an early 6-5 margin.
- Falling behind 15-10 midway through, Manhattan got the number down to 17-15 after yet another ace from Kuzniar.
- Despite hanging around, Holy Cross found the momentum they needed to close out the match, winning 25-18 and 3-1.
MATCH TWO: Manhattan 1, Stonehill 3
- The Jaspers geared up for their final match in Rhode Island against NEC opponent Stonehill by taking an early 7-6 edge in the opening set, following kills from Brooke Johnson and Abby Morreale.
- Three consecutive attack errors from the Skyhawks increased the Manhattan advantage to 10-8.
- Falling back down 15-13, the Green and White surged to a 20-18 lead after Johnson and Morreale teamed up once more for a dual block.
- A counteracting surge from Stonehill proved to be just enough to take the opening set 25-23.
- More back and forth ensued to start the second, with a Katie Powers kill helping the Jaspers get out to a 10-9 lead.
- A 6-1 run from the Skyhawks put them back in the driver's seat, eventually going up 19-15 late.
- Manhattan responded with seven consecutive scores, with Hanna Kaczynska putting the emphatic cap on it with a kill fed to her from Ori Briger.
- Holding off a late push from Stonehill, the Jaspers scored three of the final four points and won the second set 25-23.
- Stonehill used an 11-4 stretch out of the gates in the third to set the tone early.
- Another 6-1 run, this time from the Green and White, used a Kaitlyn Doyle service ace and Karsyn Harris kill to trim the deficit to 18-15.
- Kaczynska put the set back within three at 22-19, but Stonehill took three in a row to capture the third set 25-19.
- Johnson's kill on the seventh point gave the Jaspers a 7-6 advantage early in the fourth.
- The match continued a back and forth pace, with a service error from Stonehill trimming their now-lead to 15-14.
- Stonehill used a 6-2 stretch to gain momentum late in the set, later prevailing 25-20 for the set and match.
STATS AND NOTES
- Sophomore right side Hanna Kaczynska led the way in kills amongst her teammates, registering 32 across the two matches.
- Senior outside hitter Katie Powers held the highest amount of single-game kills, with 19 against Holy Cross.
- Senior middle blocker Abby Morreale contributed the most to the block party, with a total of nine across the two matches.
- The Jaspers hit at their best rate in the opening set against Stonehill, with a .480 clip.
- Junior setter Ori Briger spread the wealth most frequently, combining for 56 assists by the day's end.
NEXT UP
Head Coach Brooke Alverson and the Jaspers will continue their road trip in the tri-state area, heading off to Connecticut for a matchup with the Blue Devils from CCSU on Tuesday, September 15. Action from Detrick Gymnasium will commence at 6:00 p.m., with action being streamed live on NEC Front Row.
Follow Manhattan Women's Volleyball on X and Instagram (@JaspersVB).
