RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Niagara Purple Eagles lost to the Manhattan Jaspers in four sets, 19-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-17, on Sunday afternoon.

"I was very pleased with the way our team came out and started the match," head coach Vilis Ozols said. "Manhattan pushed back and we weren't able to sustain the advantage. We showed sparks of great play even within the loss." 

The Purple Eagles (5-9, 2-2 MAAC) started off the match strong; NU had a match-best 18 kills and a .325 hitting percentage in the first set. Niagara scored 11 of the first 13 points in the set and held off a late Jaspers (9-7, 3-1 MAAC) push to take the first set, 25-19.

Manhattan broke open a close second set with an 11-3 run en route to winning the second set, 25-13. The Jaspers won the pivotal third set behind 16 kills, and pulled away from the Purple Eagles in the fourth set.

Rayenne Hale and Alex Stone each led NU with 10 kills, while Alexis Gray had a team-high 29 assists and Rylee Hunt had a match-best 22 digs. Nicole Matheis had 12 digs and added eight kills.

Niagara returns home next weekend to host Siena on Saturday and Marist on Sunday.

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