Oct. 9, 2010

Final Stats

Manhattan and Siena scored the same amount of points Saturday in Loudonville, the Lady Jaspers just scored them at the right time. Diana Strutner had 16 kills and 15 digs to lead Manhattan to a 3-1 (25-23, 15-25, 25-19 and 25-23) victory as the Lady J's pulled even with the Saints in the early MAAC standings.

Siena (4-12/3-4) libero Lesli Akeo had her second 30-dig match of the season, anchoring a defense that registered 73 digs in the four sets.

Brittany Lintelman had 14 kills in just 22 attacks in the middle (.500) for the Saints, and Taylor Akana posted another double-double with 24 kills and 12 digs. Akana entered the match ranked 13th nationally in kills per set, a ranking which figures to improve based upon today's performance.

The difference in the match was the highly competitive first and fourth sets, both taken by Manhattan (9-10/3-4), 25-23.

As has been the case for most of the season, Siena continued to be its own worst enemy.

With the first set tied 23-23, Manhattan took early control following an attack error and a bad set. Siena had command in the fourth set, holding a 19-15 late lead before committing a pair of critical hitting errors that allowed Manhattan to pull even. The Lady Jaspers broke free from a 23-23 tie with consecutive kills from Alexa Lampasona and Kelsey Huntoon to prevent a fifth set and clinch the match.

The Saints held a decisive 59-43 edge in kills, but committed 29 attack errors and 12 service errors. Manhattan played it conservative and did not commit a serving error in the match.

Siena returns to action Sunday at Marist.