Freshman Raelean Rush had one of two double-doubles for Niagara Saturday.

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – The Niagara University volleyball team (5-15) improved to 3-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings with a 30-13, 30-27, 24-30, 30-27 victory over Manhattan College (5-20, 1-3) Saturday at the Gallagher Center on the Monteagle Ridge campus.

Juniors Erin Graham (Oakville, N.Y.) and Michelle LeSouder (Stratford, Ont.), and freshman Raelean Rush (Amherst, N.Y./Sweet Home) each had 14 kills to lead the Purple Eagles. Junior Micole Daluisio (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) had a team-high 20 digs, Graham added 17 and Rush 14.

Manhattan was led by Maggie Pfeifer who had a match-high 23 kills. Whitney Judkins added 15 kills and Ashley Davis led the Lady Jaspers with 20 digs.

"Everything went our way. We wanted to come out and take command and we did exactly that in the first game," Niagara head coach Rocco Lucci said. "We served tough and we served deep which kept their passes off of the net and gave us a chance to play defense, which was unbelievable in the first two games.

"Manhattan made some adjustments in the third game and found our weak spot but we also made adjustments as we were communicating on what we needed to do to win game four," he continued. "Our intensity was at a consistent level all four games, which was something we talked about in practice all week."

In game one, Niagara bolted out to a 14-5 lead, collecting four blocks and five kills during the run. The Purple Eagles continued to dominate the game with Graham converting three kills, junior Karen Simpson (Rochester, N.Y.) a pair and LeSouder with two of her own. Manhattan reached double digits at 25-10, but Niagara closed with a 5-3 run.

The Purple Eagles battled in game two with the Lady Jaspers tying the score at six and 10. Niagara responded with five quick points on a Manhattan error, two kills by Rush, a Daluisio ace and a Purple Eagle block. Manhattan came back to pull within two, at 18-16, but Niagara remained ahead the rest of the game.

The Purple Eagles trailed early in the third game, 14-10, when Manhattan had six kills. Niagara came back to make it a two-point game, 18-16, when LeSouder had three kills and a block assist. The game see sawed until Manhattan got three kills from Pfeifer and two from Megan O’Dorisio to close the game with a 7-2 run.

In game four, Niagara took a 16-8 lead with multiple kills from LeSouder and sophomore Annie Wachob (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Mary’s). Manhattan responded with a pair of blocks, an ace and a Pfeifer kill to make it 16-12. Again the teams traded points until the Lady Jaspers worked the score to 26-24 with three Pfeifer kills and blocks from Lori Bambauer and Helena Ward. Niagara then put together four kills for the win.

Niagara hit .247 for the match, including .406 in the first game. Manhattan hit .202.

The Purple Eagles conclude their regular-season home schedule with a 1 p.m. match against Saint Peter’s Sunday in the Gallagher Center. Admission is free.