Riverdale, NY (October 16, 2004)- Despite a match-high 17 kills from
Maggie Pfeifer, St. Peter's rallied to take the final two games of the match to defeat Manhattan, 3-1 (30-23, 20-30, 30-20, 30-23). St. Peter's, which used only six players throughout the entire match, was led by Gulhan Cakcak, who posted 15 kills, and Sasha Pshenychka, who had 13 kills. Both players each had eight block assists.
In what was the MAAC opener for both teams, St. Peter's got off to a quick start in the first game, opening a 19-13 lead on a kill by Valeria Kovaleva after the game had been close early. The Lady Jaspers would close to within five, but Cakcak served an ace on game point to give St. Peter's the first game, 30-23.
Manhattan stormed back in the second game, opening up a 7-3 lead early. St. Peter's closed to within three points at 13-10, but Manhattan pulled off a 12-3 run to extend their lead to 25-13, and put the match away at 29-20 on a double block from
Megan O'Dorisio and
Whitney Judkins.
St. Peter's responded in the third game by scoring the first nine points to take a lead from which Manhattan would not recover. Cakcak's six kills during the game paced the Peahens, who took a 2-1 match lead.
It seemed as if Manhattan would send the match to a deciding fifth game, as the Lady Jaspers took an early 9-3 lead in the fourth game on three service aces from Judkins during one series. Manhattan held the lead at 18-13, but then St. Peter's began to chip away, tying the game at 21, and then at 23. From there, the Peahans scored seven straight points to take the final game by a score of 30-23.
Ashley Davis led the defensive effort for Manhattan (4-17) with 22 digs, while
Allison O'Neill and
Ashley Watson posted 11 digs apiece. In addition to her double-double in kills and digs (15 and 10), Cakcak also hit six service aces for St. Peter's (3-13).
Manhattan returns to action tomorrow, Sunday, October 17, when they will host Big East rival Rutgers at Draddy Gym. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
