MVille-USMMA Boxscore
MVille-Ramapo Boxscore

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Manhattanville women's volleyball team had a tough first day at the Hunter College Tournament on Saturday, as the Valiants went 0-2 against the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Ramapo College. Manhattanville dropped a 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-19, 28-26) decision to USMMA to begin the day, then fell by a 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-12) score to Ramapo to conclude the afternoon.

Against Merchant Marine, freshman Jocelyn Branca (Eastchester, N.Y.) was the offensive star for the Valiants, as she tied her season-high with 16 kills on 33 attacks for a .303 hitting percentage. The freshman also added 26 digs, the most by a Valiant this season and the highest total since current junior Makana Gomes (Honolulu, Hawaii) had 26 versus SUNY Old Westbury as a freshman on September 25, 2008.

Gomes also had a double-double against the Mariners as well, recording 25 assists and 21 digs, and added a team-leading five service aces as well. In addition, junior Maggie Black (Seattle, Wash.) had six kills and hit .417, putting her over 100 kills for the season and making her the sixth member of this year's team to crack the 100-kill plateau.

The team's stats were not as good going up against a tough Ramapo team, as junior Damaris Morales (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) led the squad with just six kills in the three-set defeat. Branca added 14 digs and four kills, while Gomes just missed another double-double with 13 assists and nine digs.

Manhattanville (9-19, 0-7 Freedom) will conclude its 2010 season tomorrow with a pair of matches on day two of the Hunter Tournament.