POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 hole to defend their home court and defeat Manhattan 3-2 (18-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-12) Sunday afternoon in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) match at McCann Arena. The victory extended the Red Foxes winning streak to three straight matches and eliminated Manhattan from postseason contention.
Katie Estes (Saugus, Calif.) led the comeback with a season-high 17 kills. Mackenzie Stephens (Holland, Mich.) was also an offensive leader with 15 kills and seven blocks. Becca Jones (Arlington, Va.) had nine kills and was one of three players in double digits with 11 digs. Brooke Zywick (Garden City, Mich.) finished with a match-high 23 digs while Audra Brady (Allentown, Pa.) had a double-double with 52 assists and 13 digs to go along with five blocks.
The first set started out with each team making a couple runs. After the Jaspers opened with three straight points, Marist (10-15, 6-9 MAAC) responded by scoring the next six to take a 6-3 lead. The streak started with a triple block by Brady, Stephens and Jones. Stephens then had two kills sandwiched around a service ace by Gena Russo (Rensselaer, N.Y.). From there however, Manhattan (13-14, 8-7 MAAC) went on a 14-5 run to take control of the set. They eventually closed out the opening frame 25-18.
The second set was back-and-forth until, with the scored tied 8-8, Manhattan went on a 5-1 run to jump ahead 13-9. The Red Foxes fought back to within 15-13 on kills by Brady, Gilbert and Estes and a block by Brady and Stephens. That was as close as they would get, as the Jaspers took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-20 set win.
Marist came out a different team in the third set, taking an early 5-2 lead on two kills each by Stephens and Estes and another by Jones. After Manhattan cut the lead to 5-4, the Red Foxes responded by scoring nine of the next 11 points to take control at 14-6. Hanna Stoiberg (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) led the charge with a block and a kill while Marisa Gilbert (Pflugerville, Texas) added a kill and an ace. Estes had an ace of her own as well. Marist maintained a lead of at least seven points the rest of the set to start the comeback with a 25-17 win in the third frame.
The momentum continued in the fourth set as Marist opened up an early 7-3 lead thanks to three kills by Estes, two block combinations from Stephens and Brady and a kill each from Jones and Stephens. Manhattan fought back with four straight points to tie the score, but the Red Foxes responded right back with a 6-1 streak to give them a 13-8 advantage. Gilbert teamed up with Stoiberg for a block before hitting back-to-back kills to lead the run while Stoiberg also added a kill. The Jaspers eventually closed to within 19-17 but, following a timeout, Marist closed the set on a 6-3 run to tie the match. The final run was fueled by two service aces from Brady sandwiched around a Stoiberg kill.
Manhattan took a quick 4-2 lead in the deciding fifth set, but the Red Foxes seized momentum right back with three straight points on two Estes' kills and an ace by Zywick. With the score tied at five, Marist rattled off another four consecutive points to take a 9-5 lead. Stoiberg had a kill and assisted Gilbert on a block to fuel the run. The same sequence allowed for the Red Foxes to extend their lead to five at 12-7. Stephens eventually finished things with a kill to close the set at 15-12 and complete the comeback.
The Red Foxes complete a four-match home-stand on Saturday, Nov. 3 against Siena at 2 p.m. Prior to the match, Marist will celebrate their two seniors, Estes and Stoiberg, with the annual Senior Day ceremony.
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