Loudonville, NY (November 15,2003) - The Lady Jaspers defeated Fairfield in three straight matches clinching them a spot in the MAAC tournament finals versus the winner of the #2 Iona/#3 St. Peter's semifinal game. Senior tri-captain
Luka Van Cauteren led the way for the Lady Jaspers with 16 kills, 17 assists, 13 digs with a .433 hitting percentage.
Manhattan started out slow in the first game but finished out on a 4-0 run, giving them the 30-26 victory. In the second game, the game went back and forth but Manhattan edged them by 5 points, (30-25). In the third game, after taking the lead at 4-3 they did not look back, eventually winning 30-24.
Sophomore
Maggie Pfeifer added 10 kills with a .286 hitting percentage and freshman
Meghan Plunkett recorded 7 kills, 3 digs with a .263 hitting percentage. This is the second year in a row that Manhattan has advanced to the finals, last year they went on to defeat St. Peter's, and clinched a berth to the NCAA tournament.
Leading the way for the Fairfield Stags were Casey Machon who tallied 12 kills, 8 digs with a.316 hitting percentage and Kristin Anderson who notched 10 kills and 3 digs.
Manhattan will take on the winner of the #2 Iona/#3 St. Peter's game, tomorrow in the MAAC tournament championships at 1 pm. The winner of tomorrow's game will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
