Manhattan Tripped Up By Hosts In Finale of UMES Fall Fling

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – In the final match of the UMES Fall Fling, the Manhattan College volleyball team took the first set against host Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday night.  However, the undefeated Hawks (10-0) rallied to win the next three, posting a 23-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-21 victory over the Jaspers (6-6) at the W.P. Hytche Center.

After Maryland Eastern Shore scored the first five points of the match, the Jaspers battled back to tie it at 10-10.  The Hawks then went on a 9-5 run to open up a 19-15 advantage, but Manhattan again responded, taking five of the next six points to force a 20-20 deadlock.  With Maryland Eastern Shore leading 22-21, a kill by Teodora Peric (Chicago, Ill.) started a 4-0 spurt that brought the Jaspers to set point, and Manhattan secured a 25-23 win.

The Hawks again jumped out to an early lead in the second set, scoring eight of the first 10 points.  Maryland Eastern Shore led 16-9 when Milena Janjusevic (Belgrade, Serbia) slammed a kill to start a 4-1 Manhattan run that brought the Jaspers within four, 17-13.  However, the Hawks responded with an 8-3 rally to close out the set, 25-16.

Maryland Eastern Shore took another early lead in the third set, pulling ahead 4-0 and 10-5 before Manhattan went on a 7-2 run to tie it at 12-12.  The Hawks ended the set by claiming 13 of the final 15 points, though, and Maryland Eastern Shore grabbed a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-14 third-set triumph.

There were nine ties and five lead changes in the fourth set, as Maryland Eastern Shore went up 6-3 early before the Jaspers rallied to force an 8-8 deadlock.  After Manhattan took a 14-12 advantage on an Allie Yamashiro (Kapolei, Hawaii) service ace, the Hawks rattled off seven of the next eight points to go in front 19-15.  The Jaspers again responded, though, going on a 5-0 spurt to regain the lead, 20-19.  However, Maryland Eastern Shore ended the frame on a 6-1 spurt, claiming a 25-21 set win that closed out a 3-1 match victory.

Claire Van Dyk (New Richmond, Wis.) had a double-double for the Jaspers, smashing 12 kills to go along with 15 digs.  Peric also registered a double-double with 27 assists and 10 digs, while Janjusevic finished with eight kills and nine digs.  Yamashiro, meanwhile, tallied 19 digs, as Manhattan outdug Maryland Eastern Shore 70-68.  As a team, the Jaspers hit .070 (37 kills, 27 errors, 143 attempts) in the match.

Zuzana Ondruskova led the Hawks with a match-high 15 kills, and she added 11 digs to complete a double-double.  Petra Jerabkova had a double-double with 31 assists and 13 digs, while Alana Polk and Lucia Babic finished with nine kills apiece.  Polk also tallied eight digs, and Marta Klafuric contributed six blocks, as the Hawks had a 15-4 advantage in that category.  Andjela Reljic posted a match-high 22 digs for Maryland Eastern Shore, which hit .193 (43-16-140) as a team.