NJIT Gets By Manhattan, 3-0

Lady Jaspers Go 1-2 at CCSU Blue Devil Invitational

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Entering the CCSU Blue Devil Invitational, the Manhattan College
volleyball team knew that undefeated NJIT would likely be its toughest draw in the tournament.
The Lady Jaspers (1-3) were right, as the Highlanders (7-0) hit .278 (50 kills, 15 errors, 128
attempts) as a team and outdug Manhattan 76-53 in a 25-15, 25-19, 25-18 victory at Detrick
Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.  NJIT won the tournament with a 3-0 record, while Manhattan
went 1-2 in its three matches.

Unlike the start of Manhattan's match against Hartford earlier in the day, the first set of this one
was tightly contested at the beginning.  There were six ties in the first 14 points of the match before
the Highlanders seized control with a 5-0 run that gave them an 11-7 lead.  Leading 17-13, NJIT
used a 6-0 rally to increase its margin to 10 points.  Manhattan scored the next two points to pull
within 23-15, but NJIT sealed a 25-15 win on a kill by Renata Pandolfo.  The Highlanders hit an
impressive .342 (20-7-38) in the first set.

NJIT carried its momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead.  Manhattan pulled within
three points at 9-6 before the Highlanders immediately responded with six of the next eight points
to run their advantage to 15-8.  The Lady Jaspers cut their deficit to three points again at 21-18, but
NJIT closed the set by winning four of the final five points and took a 2-0 lead in the match with a
25-19 win.  NJIT continued its impressive hitting in the second set, slamming 16 kills and
committing just three errors in 42 swings (.310).

The third set was the most competitive of the match, as Manhattan countered NJIT's early 5-0 run
with a 6-1 rally of its own to force a 6-6 tie.  The Lady Jaspers took a 10-8 lead on a kill by Laura
Bellotti (Dix Hills, N.Y.), but the Highlanders stormed back to tie it at 10-10.  With the score
knotted at 13-13, Manhattan rallied for four straight points to force an NJIT timeout.  Following the
timeout, NJIT won 12 of the final 13 points to finish off a 25-18 win in the set and a 3-0 sweep in
the match.

Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) was the only Lady Jasper in double figures with 12 kills.  She
added eight digs.  Bellotti had nine digs and three blocks to go along with 22 assists, while Julie
Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) tallied a team-high 17 digs.  Alexa Lampasona (Remensburg, N.Y.)
made her collegiate debut for Manhattan in the match, recording three kills and a block.  The Lady
Jaspers hit .118 (31-16-127) as a team.


Katrina Hornstein recorded a match-high 14 kills and hit .433 for the Highlanders, while Pandolfo
registered a double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs.  Erica Schultz also had a double-double for
NJIT, posting 39 assists and 11 digs.  She also hit 1.000, slamming a kill on all three of her attack
attempts.  Sabrina Baby returned 30 digs for the Highlanders, including 15 in the second set.

The Lady Jaspers return home on Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. showdown with FDU (3-5) at
Draddy Gymnasium.  Last season, Manhattan defeated FDU in five sets.  A live webcast of the
match will be available at gojaspers.com as a part of the expanded JasperVision package.

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