Senior Natie Manalo Helps The Falcons Soar Over The Bucs, 3-1, On Her Senior Night

Senior Natie Manalo Helps The Falcons Soar Over The Bucs, 3-1, On Her Senior Night

Boston, MA- The Falcons (11-8) lone senior, Natie Manalo (San Francisco, CA) was honored before tonight's contest on Senior Night to kick off Fisher's Annual Homecoming Weekend. Manalo is the Falcons all-time leader in digs (488), pass attempts (292), assists (236), and service aces (99) and is the only Falcon to play every single game since its inception last season with 119 total games played in a row.  She continued adding to those stats tonight as her and her team won their second straight over the visiting Massachusetts Maritime Buccaneers (1-15), 3-1.

Fisher started off slowly tonight as they could not get the momentum going in Game 1 as they lost the first, 25-16.  Falcons errors played a role in the loss as they had 12 errors, something the team is not accustomed to.  During the break though, the Falcons got the pep talk they needed from the coaching staff, as they quickly bounced back in Game 2 and jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on two quick kills by Periya Yath (Amherst, MA).  Fisher continued the pressure and led by as many as 14 as they led 20-6.  The Buccaneers made a push to get as close as 21-10, but that was as close as they would get as the Falcons finished off the set with a 3-0 run with a kill from Chyna Carter (Avondale, AZ) and two Bucs errors to take Game 2 25-11.

A 4-0 Falcon run kicked off the third set to give all the momentum they would need to take Game 3, 25-18, as Fisher did not trail through the set.  Carter tacked on another five kills, while Yeryvel Catala (Gurabo, Puerto Rico) added three to pace the offense in the third set, while also taking advantage of four Bucs service errors.  In the final set of the evening, the Bucs hung around doing all they could to force a fifth set.  Mass Maritime pulled out to an early 4-1 lead, taking advantage of four Falcons errors.  But the lead did not last long as Fisher bounced with four straight points of their own to go up 5-4.  The volleying for the lead would continue for the next seven points as the two teams were even at 8-8.  But the Falcons were too much for the Bucs as they led the rest of the match, finishing strong with seven straight points to take the game 25-18 and the match 3-1.  

Manalo finished with another 20 digs, five assists, and six service aces, while Catala and Carter combined for 23 kills to pace the offense.  Lia Aime (Las Piedras, Puerto Rico) contributed another 24 assists tonight giving her 367 on the season.

The Falcons will have the rest of the weekend off and will play host to A.I.I. conference opponent Washinton Adventist on Tuesday evening at 7:30pm at Boston Latin Academy.