BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Canisius College volleyball team took a big  step in its quest for postseason play on Saturday afternoon, as the squad upset the Manhattan Jaspers, 3-0 at the Koessler Athletic Center. Manhattan came into the contest with just three losses in the MAAC and was ranked third in the conference standings. With the win the Griffs improve to 8-15 overall and 6-5 in MAAC play. The Jaspers fall to 14-11 and 8-4 in conference.

"I feel like this might be one of the most gritty wins we've had this season," Cathy Hummel said. "We have players that are battling through some injuries, and the team just did a great job staying in the moment, not getting ahead of ourselves, not getting to far down emotionally when the scoreboard wasn't in our favor."

The Griffs won all three sets to record its third three-set sweep and its second at the Koessler Athletic Center. The Griffs won by set scores of 27-25, 25-18 and 26-24.

Canisius dominated the match when it came to hitting percentage, as the squad posted an impressive .277 with 42 kills and just 14 errors on 101 attacks. Manhattan struggled with efficiency, as the squad registered a .125 mark with 36 kills and 21 errors on 120 attacks.

Junior Katlyn Tyler returned to the linupe after missing the last match against Iona and led the team with 13 kills and had a .194 hitting percentage. Jacklyn Malusa also tallied 10 kills, and had a sparkling .381 hitting percentage after recording just two errors.

Grace Streicher directed traffic in the Griffs attack, shelling out 33 assists and missed out on the double-double, tallying nine digs.

Rachel Kline led the team in digs as she tallied 18 on the day, and was one kill short of recording the double-double with nine. Donnett Hickson made the start at Libero and recorded nine digs and two assists for the Blue and Gold.

For the Jaspers, Claire Van Dyk was the only player to record double-figure kills with 10. She also recorded 12 digs for the double-double.

After opening up the match with a 27-25 set win, the Griffs didn't back down, tallying a second-frame victory, 25-18.  However in the third set, it appeared Manhattan was going to force a fourth frame, as the squad staked claim to 24-22 lead late in the stanza. However the Griffs showed their resiliency as the squad scored the final four points, thanks to an ace by Jordan Tylec and kills from Tyler, and a pair by Malusa.

The Griffs will have a chance to strengthen its resume for the postseason on Wednesday as the squad will engage in a “Battle of the Bridge” matchup with Niagara. The match is slated for 7 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN3.