HAMDEN, Conn — Inside of a packed Burt Kahn Court, Quinnipiac volleyball returned back to its winning ways in MAAC play, defeating Manhattan  3-0 on Wednesday night. 

The Bobcats dominated throughout the game, never conceding a set, a turnaround performance from their four-set loss at Fairfield on Oct. 6. The home court advantage was obvious in this game, something that head coach Kyle Robinson noted. 

“It’s great, you know we love playing here,” Robinson said. “Burt Kahn is dressed up a little bit differently than the last time we played, it is starting to feel more and more like home. We love our fans, they’re always great to play in front of and great to work hard for.” 

The players picked up on the crowd energy as well.

“We serve better here, we play better here, with our crowd, with our DJ,” sophomore setter Damla Gunes said. “(The) hype is good, so awesome.” 

Gunes set a season high six points and three aces in this game and set up her teammates for some great plays throughout the game. 

Outside hitters, sophomore Ginevra Giovagnoni and graduate student Aryanah Diaz also both had steller games, scoring a plethora of points for the Bobcats and making the setters’ jobs much easier. Giovagnoni set a season high for herself with three aces and both of the they also defended well, both recording season high’s with two blocks each. 

Robinson also discussed this game being the first one where there are photos of the team on the walls from last season. 

“We just started going through the photos that we had in stock from last year,” Robinson said. “It was an opportunity to take something special to us, those photos, I think say a lot about who we are, it was just an opportunity to take those special things and display them to you guys, our fans.”

There were times when the Bobcats did have to battle through some adversity, especially when Manhattan started off the second set up 4-0 and when Quinnipiac called a timeout, down 9-6 in that same set. The second set also ended close with a final score of 25-20. 

After a lost coaches challenge by Quinnipiac at the beginning of the third set, the team channeled its energy into a strong third and final set to send the Bobcats to victory.

Quinnipiac will look to continue this type of play in its next game against Saint Peter’s on Saturday at 1 p.m. back at Burt Kahn Court.