Manhattan-Northern Kentucky Box Score

Manhattan-Providence Box Score 

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Manhattan College volleyball team picked up a pair of victories on the final day of the Harvard Invitational on Saturday.  After earning a hard-fought 25-23, 28-26, 24-26, 22-25, 15-8 win over Northern Kentucky (8-1), the Jaspers (3-6) defeated Providence (1-12) by a 20-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-15 count at the Malkin Athletic Center.  Mariana Furquim (Curibita, Brazil) recorded a double-double in each match and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

The matchup with Northern Kentucky was back-and-forth from the outset, as the first set featured 14 ties and five lead changes.  Northern Kentucky opened up a 4-1 advantage before Manhattan stormed back to go in front 6-5.  With the Jaspers leading 13-10, the Norse went on a 9-5 rally to go in front by a score of 19-18.  Manhattan won the next point to even it at 19-19, and the sides alternated the next six points.  Sydney Volovski (Oswego, Ill.) broke a 22-22 deadlock with back-to-back kills that brought Manhattan to set point, and a kill by Furquim finished off a 25-23 set win.

The second set was just as tight as the first.  Northern Kentucky led 8-7 before the Jaspers rallied for nine of the next 11 points to go up 16-10.  However, the Norse responded with an 8-2 run of their own to tie the score at 18-18.  Alexa Lampasona (Remsenburg, N.Y.) slammed a kill to break the deadlock and start a 3-0 Manhattan spurt, but the Norse scored the next three points to tie it again, 21-21.  Northern Kentucky earned the first set point at 24-23, but was denied on a block by Furquim and Maddie Heck (Corte Madera, Calif.).  The Jaspers had three set point opportunities of their own before finally putting away the frame, 28-26, on a kill by Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii).

After the sides traded the first 10 points of set three, Manhattan went on a 3-0 rally to go up 8-5.  With the Jaspers leading 12-9, the Norse used a 6-0 run to pull in front, 15-12.  However, Manhattan countered with a 7-0 run to regain a 19-15 advantage.  The Jaspers reached match point at 24-21 before Northern Kentucky rallied for three straight points to tie the score and force a Manhattan timeout.  Following the timeout, a Haley Lippert kill gave the Norse their first set point, and Jenna Schreiver wrapped up Northern Kentucky's come-from-behind 26-24 win with a service ace.

Northern Kentucky didn't carry that momentum into the fourth set, though, as Manhattan jumped out to a 14-4 lead.  However, the Norse slowly chipped away at the advantage, eventually tying the score at 19-19.  Manhattan won the next point to go up 20-19, but Northern Kentucky scored the next four to take a 23-20 lead.  The Norse claimed a 25-22 set win to force a decisive frame.

Over the past two seasons, the Jaspers have saved some of their best volleyball for the fifth set.  It was no different on Saturday, as Manhattan scored the first four points of the decisive frame and never looked back.  The Jaspers cruised from there, increasing their lead to seven points at 9-2 and reaching match point at 14-5.  After the Norse won the next point, a block by Lampasona and McGuinness wrapped up the set, 15-6, to snap Manhattan's four-match losing streak.

With the victory, Manhattan improved to 13-3 in five-set matches since the beginning of the 2010 campaign.  The loss was Northern Kentucky's first as a Division I program after moving up from the Division II ranks.

McGuinness had a double-double in her first match back after missing seven contests due to an injury she suffered in the season-opener.  She finished with a match-high 19 kills and 13 digs to go along with three blocks.  Furquim registered 16 kills, 19 digs and five blocks, while Volovski contributed 16 kills and six blocks, including three solo stuffs.  Lampasona and Heck each added five blocks, as the Jaspers posted a season-high 14 blocks as a team.  Hollegn Henderson (Long Beach, Calif.) recorded a double-double with 49 assists and 13 digs, and Kelsey Huntoon (Monroe, Mich.) returned a match-high 32 digs.  The Jaspers hit .170 (61 kills 28 errors, 194 attempts) as a team and outdug the Norse 105-94.

Jenna Ruble led four Norse in double-figures with 17 kills.  She hit .417 in the match and also recorded six blocks.  Lippert tallied 15 kills, while Shelby Buschur contributed 13 kills and four blocks.  Kelly Morrissey had a double-double with 10 kills and 15 digs.  Schreiver finished with six aces and five blocks to go along with 58 assists and nine digs.  Kylee Tarantino posted a team-high 23 digs, and Jayden Julian added 22 digs.  As a team, Northern Kentucky hit .147 (66-34-218) in the match.

The Jaspers took an early 4-2 lead in the first set of their match against Providence before the Friars rallied to gain a 9-7 advantage.  Manhattan scored the next four points to regain the lead, 11-9, but Providence responded with three of the next four to knot the score at 12-12.  There were 11 ties in the opening set, the last coming at 18-18.  After a Colleen McCollom kill gave Providence the lead, 19-18, the Friars claimed six of the next eight points to earn a 25-20 set win.

The Friars carried their momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 6-2 lead.  With Providence in front 9-5, Manhattan went on a 6-1 rally to take an 11-10 advantage.  Providence scored the next three points to regain the lead, 13-11, before the Jaspers used an 8-1 run to open up a 19-14 cushion and seize control of the set.  Manhattan made just two errors in the entire set, hitting .345 (12 kills, 29 attempts) to take the frame by a 25-20 count.

In the third set, Manhattan grabbed control early, using a 5-0 spurt to turn a 2-2 tie into a 7-2 lead.  The Jaspers extended the margin to 11-4 before Providence scored four straight points to get within three, 11-8.  However, a McGuinness kill sparked a 6-0 run that pushed Manhattan's advantage back to nine points at 17-8.  After Manhattan ran its cushion to 22-10, the Friars rattled off three consecutive points to trim their deficit to nine.  Furquim responded with a kill and, followed by a kill from Henderson, added another to wrap up the set, 25-13.  Manhattan hit .464 (15-2-28) as a team in the stanza.

After the Jaspers took an early 5-2 lead in the fourth set, Providence won the next two points to pull within one, 5-4.  However, Lampasona followed with a kill that ignited an 11-1 Manhattan rally, giving the Jaspers a 17-5 advantage.  Providence scored the next four points to make it 17-9 before Manhattan responded with three of the next four to increase its margin to 21-10.  The Jaspers reached match point at 24-14, and a Furquim kill put away the 3-1 victory.  Manhattan won the fourth set by a score of 25-15.

Lampasona led the Jaspers with 14 kills on .600 hitting against Providence.  McGuinness and Furquim each had a double-double in the match.  McGuinness posted 12 kills and 10 digs, while Furquim tallied 10 kills and 10 digs.  Volovski also notched 10 kills in the match.  Henderson handed out 41 assists, while Huntoon recorded a match-high 17 digs and Heck finished with five blocks.  The Jaspers hit a season-high .288 (49-13-125) as a team in the victory.

Mackenzie Ziegler registered a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs, while McCollom also had 12 kills for the Friars.  Jordan Wiesler handed out 34 assists and added 11 digs to complete a double-double.  Cassie Muzzonigro contributed a team-high 15 digs, as the Friars outdug the Jaspers 55-54.  After hitting .375 (19-4-40) in the opening set, Providence hit -.037 (24-28-106) over the final three sets.  The Friars ended up hitting .075 (43-32-146) overall.