RIVERDALE, NY – The Manhattan Jaspers Women's Volleyball team (2-10, 1-0 Metro), in front of a white-out crowd inside Draddy Gymnasium, earned their first conference win over the Warriors of Merrimack (0-14, 0-1 Metro) in four sets (25-22, 20-25, 25-17, 25-21) on Friday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Over 500 Jasper faithful packed the bleachers inside the walls of Draddy, arriving in a sea of white.
- Knotted up at four through the first eight points, three unanswered points from Manhattan were capped off by an emphatic kill from Mikalah Curran.
- That lead was extended to 13-9 after back-to-back kills from Katie Powers and Lyla Auth.
- The latter half of the set consisted of huge swings in both directions, as the Green and White took a 20-18 advantage following a dual block from Auth and Emilia Kuzniar.
- Later tying at 21-all, four of the final five were scored by the Jaspers, as a service error gave the opening set to Manhattan.
- The hosts kept their foot on the gas in set number two, taking an 11-8 edge after kills from Hanna Kaczynska and Emma Francesconi.
- 9-1 was the final number of the run that Merrimack ripped off midway through the set, grabbing back the lead at 17-13.
- Manhattan kept things close at 20-18 after a Francesconi kill, but it was the Warriors pulling away this time to knot things up at one set aside.
- Helenn Montilla scored the 12th point out of the first 18 in favor of the Jaspers, once again looking to maintain an early advantage.
- Holding that margin at 15-10, five straight including a service ace from Abby Morreale doubled up the home team's margin on Merrimack at 20-10.
- Morreale slammed the door to close out the set, securing a 25-17 set three victory for the Jaspers.
- Initially going down 5-2 to start the fourth, an 11-2 surge from the Jaspers ran all the way to a dual block from Kuzniar and Montilla, going up 13-7.
- The Green and White never held more than a six-point edge the rest of the way, but Karsyn Harris' final kill at 25-21 sent the Draddy crowd into a frenzy as Manhattan won their third set.
STATS AND NOTES
- Sophomore right side Hanna Kaczynska led the way in kills amongst her Jasper teammates with 13, her fifth straight match with ten or more.
- Sophomore outside hitter and Freshman defensive specialist Kaitlyn Doyle tied with 16 digs, a career-high on the latter.
- Manhattan hit at their best rate in the third set, with a .314 clip.
- Senior setter Emilia Kuzniar spread the wealth the most hanging 27 assists, a new season-high.
- Junior setter Ori Briger recorded three service aces.
QUOTES FROM THE JASPERS
- Head Coach Brooke Alverson: "I'm really proud of how the team came out and competed at home for our first night inside Draddy in front of a near sellout crowd. Kaitlyn [Doyle] had a career night in digs with her and Emma [Francesconi] each contributing 16 digs, and the versatility of this team shows in their play. Karsyn's [Harris] career-high in kills, plus Hanna [Kaczynska] leading us with 13 showcases our team effort. We'll celebrate tonight's win and look ahead to tomorrow's match against Quinnipiac."
NEXT UP
Alverson and the Jaspers will wrap up their weekend tomorrow (Saturday), September 26, when the Green and White welcome the Bobcats from Quinnipiac. Action is slated to get underway at 2:00 p.m. and can be streamed live on the Jasper Sports Network.
Follow Manhattan Women's Volleyball on X and Instagram (@JaspersVB).
