NEW YORK – Manhattan battled St. Francis Brooklyn in three close sets Friday afternoon but ultimately fell to St. Francis Brooklyn 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-21).
Manhattan (0-4) took a 9-8 lead off a pair of errors early in set one. St. Francis Brooklyn (3-6) scored the ensuing seven points to build a 15-9 advantage. The Jaspers stopped the run by getting a kill from Kelly Markowski to make it 15-10. Unfortunately, the Jaspers would not get closer than six for the remainder of the set.
The second set was a promising and exciting set for Manhattan. The set started neck and neck, with both teams exchanging the lead. There were five lead changes, with each team keeping it within single digits. Unfortunately, towards the end of the set, St. Francis Brooklyn went on an eight-point run to take the lead and ultimately win by the final score of 25-22.
The third set was very much like the second. Manhattan took the early lead in the set and would battle back to tie the set at six off a Julia Menocal kill. After falling behind 14-8, the Jaspers came back to get within one, 18-17, on a kill from Camila Gomez. However, St. Francis Brooklyn kept the lead after a three-point scoring run to make it 21-17 before winning the set at 25-21.
The leader in kills was Menocal, with a total of 11 (.148) for Manhattan. Second, in line with kills at nine, was Camila Gomez. Defensively, Sarah Emmons and Sophia Lotto with seven digs each. Emmons added 25 assists, which is a new season-high for the first-year Jasper.
Manhattan continues the Big Apple Tournament on Saturday at Colombia with a doubleheader against Columbia and Lafayette. The first game is at 1 p.m. with the second at 5 p.m.
