NEWARK, NJ – The Manhattan Jaspers Women's Volleyball team (0-3), in a back and forth affair, lost in a competitive final set to the Highlanders of NJIT (1-3), going down in five (15-25, 26-24, 23-25, 25-19, 12-15) inside the Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness & Events Center on Wednesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- It was the home team jumping off to an immediate lead, as NJIT scored seven of the match's first eight points.
- Ori Briger dropped in a service ace to cut the lead to three, but six unanswered points from the Highlanders set the tone midway through the opening set.
- Despite getting back within six late, NJIT held off the Green and White long enough to take the first.
- Manhattan changed the tide in set number two, winning nine of the first 13 opportunities, as Emma Francesconi raked in back-to-back kills.
- Despite the Rams taking a 4-3 initial edge in set number two, another early 7-1 stretch from Manhattan put them on top 10-5.
- Going up 13-8 midway through, the Jaspers quickly found themselves back in a hole when NJIT ripped off another six unanswered.
- Completing an 11-1 run to go up five at 19-14, the road squad used another Briger service ace and a pair of Highlander attack errors to cut the deficit to three.
- With their backs up against the wall at 23-19, Manhattan rallied for seven of the final eight points to win the set, with Lyla Auth recording two kills along with her and Johnson logging a dual block.
- A different tune came to be in the third, with neither team taking more than a three-point edge the entire way.
- Trailing 18-17, the Jaspers took advantage of kills from Francesconi and Katie Powers along with a dual block from Helenn Montilla and Hanna Kaczynska to go up 21-20.
- NJIT took a 4-1 run to go up 24-22, and even with a Kaczynska kill holding them off, a subsequent service error put the third in favor in favor of the Highlanders.
- Manhattan attempted to return to the dominant tune that worked for them in set two again in the fourth, securing seven of the first nine points capped off by a kill from Katie Powers.
- The Red and Navy began to find their footing midway through, tying the fourth stanza at 15 with a dual block of their own.
- Reverting back to their original ways, a 10-4 stretch from the Jaspers following the knotting at 15-all forced a decisive fifth set in Newark.
- Much of the final set saw each team trading blows, with a Kaczynska kill and attack error putting the Jaspers up 12-8 and forcing a Highlander timeout.
- Out of the break, NJIT got the final surge they needed to emerge victorious, scoring the final seven tallies of the evening.
STATS AND NOTES
- Redshirt Sophomore outside hitter Brooke Johnson led the way with 12 kills, a new season-high and just her third career game with 10 or more.
- Just behind her was Sophomores outside hitter Emma Francesconi, chipping in with 10 of her own.
- The Jaspers hit at their best rate in the third set, with a .276 clip.
- Sophomores middle blocker Helenn Montilla and right side Hanna Kaczynska tallied the highest number of blocks, with six and five respectively.
- Junior and Senior setters Ori Briger (23) and Emilia Kuzniar (17) spread the ball around the most, accounting for 40 of Manhattan's 43 assists.
NEXT UP
Head Coach Brooke Alverson and the Jaspers will head off to Connecticut, starting their weekend at the Yale Invitational in New Haven on Friday, September 4. First up is the Broncos of Santa Clara, squaring off with the Green and White in a neutral outing. Live statistics will be
available here starting at 3 p.m. inside John J. Lee Amphitheater.
Follow Manhattan Women's Volleyball on X and Instagram (@JaspersVB).
