200 points, two hours and 20 minutes after the first serve, Marist and Manhattan sat deadlocked at nine in the fifth set.
Marist’s mission? Survive.
It had been a sluggish previous 200 points for the Red Foxes, who had entered on a high, sweeping their last two matches. Errors riddled the box score: they missed eight serves and committed 31 attack errors.
Marist turned it on when they needed to, ending the set on a 6-1 run, claiming its third consecutive victory, this one in five sets (18-25, 25-21, 25-23, 20-25, 15-10).
Junior outside hitter Sara Dasic came up huge for Marist in the fifth, scoring three kills and serving effectively on a 3-0 scoring streak that gave the Red Foxes a lead that they did not relinquish.
“The main thing was adrenaline and support from my teammates… I just had to go for every ball [for them],” Dasic said.
And that she did. Dasic finished Friday night with 21 kills, converting on half of her 42 swings, as well as recording 16 digs.
Freshman hitters Mallory Reck and Ava Lanzetta both added two kills in the decisive fifth set. Both tallied double digits on Friday night, and Reck added 14 digs.
“The more you have kids like that, the better everyone else becomes because they want to be like that,” head coach Sean Byron said of Reck’s late-match prowess.
Sophomore middle blocker Sarah Bumstead put the match on ice, blocking freshman middle blocker Helenn Montilla, clinching Marist’s 15-10 win. Bumstead finished with nine kills, doing so on a .412 hitting percentage.
Marist overwhelmed the Jaspers early on with its well-balanced attack, as the Red Foxes picked up kills from all across the floor. Reck, Bumstead and Lanzetta each picked up kills, pushing Marist up 9-3, resulting in a timeout for the Jaspers.
The Red Foxes still held a comfortable lead at 15-11; that’s where Manhattan roared back. The Jaspers won 14 of 17 points, stunning Marist and taking the first set.
Senior defensive specialist Teresa Garza and freshman outside/right-side hitter Emma Francesconi gave them fits from the service line in the extended run. Though they only had two aces (both by Francesconi), the strong serving threw the Red Foxes off their game.
Marist’s passers failed to make accurate passes in serve receive, which forced uncomfortable sets to hitters. The offense went cold, making attack error after attack error – or getting blocked – as Manhattan took control of the net.
They also struggled to stop Fiona VanDyke, as the sophomore outside hitter hammered five kills on only nine swings. Manhattan swung the momentum in their favor. Despite the second set going back and forth, the Jaspers’ bench and players on the floor brought continuous energy after each point.
Marist distanced itself momentarily with Reck at the line, who debuted a topspin serve for the first time all season. Bumstead converted with a two-handed push on an overpass to fire up the McCann Arena crowd, as Manhattan called a timeout in an attempt to stop the bleeding, with Marist leading 18-15.
The Red Foxes kept the Jaspers at bay from there, taking the second by a score of 25-21 to even the match at a set apiece. They found their footing on offense, scoring 15 kills in the set, but still got in their own way at times, allowing Manhattan to stay close. Marist had seven attack errors and three missed serves in the second set alone.
Junior libero CC Potter-Pessoa gave Marist an early advantage in the crucial third set, serving three aces amidst a five-point run. Still, Manhattan refused to wilt at the sight of a deficit on the scoreboard.
Manhattan reached 20 first, but Dasic turned up the heat with Marist’s backs against the wall. She scored a kill after a Marist timeout to knot the score at 20, dropped a tip over the Manhattan block on the next point, then two plays later, ripped her 13th kill of the match to put Marist up 23-20.
Again, the Jaspers refused to roll over. VanDyke landed two kills on a 3-0 Manhattan run to even the score. Dasic found the floor again to put Marist at set point, where Reck tooled the Jaspers’ block to secure a massive victory in the third.
In the fourth, Manhattan turned the tables on Marist as they jumped out to a commanding 9-5 lead. Marist, like Manhattan in the first three sets, did not let the Jaspers get too far out of reach, staying within two to four points.
However, the Jaspers never let them fully back in. Marist never trimmed the deficit down to a single point. En route to a 25-20 win, Manhattan scored 13 kills on 32 attempts, with only two errors, pounding the Marist defense.
The sides traded points to start the fifth, as a frustrating loss loomed on the horizon. The Red Foxes regrouped and played their best volleyball in the closing points, escaping McCann Arena with a 3-2 win.
Marist does not have much time to relax after the stressful win. The Red Foxes play host to Iona, who bested Manhattan in five sets earlier this week, on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Edited by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo from Xavier Angel
Graphic by Gene Barbieri
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