MVille-MSU Boxscore
MVille-FSC Boxscore

NEW YORK, N.Y. – It was a frustrating end to the 2010 season for the Manhattanville women's volleyball team on Sunday at day two of the Hunter College Tournament, as the Valiants held leads against both Montclair State University and Farmingdale State College but could not close out either squad in a pair of losses.

Starting the day against Montclair State, the Valiants came back from a set down twice but could not close out the Red Hawks in the fifth set in a tough 3-2 (30-28, 17-25, 27-25, 12-25, 15-10) defeat. Having to come right back on the court after the difficult decision, the Valiants took the first set from Farmingdale State but dropped the next three in a 3-1 (24-26, 25-21, 25-20, 25-16) loss.

Freshman Jocelyn Branca (Eastchester, N.Y.) led Manhattanville with 27 kills and 50 digs on the day, posting double-doubles in each match. Junior Damaris Morales (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) added 25 kills on .286 hitting and 34 digs, while freshman Susy Camaj (Lagrangeville, N.Y.) hit a team-best .318 (15 kills, one error) in the nine sets. Junior Makana Gomes (Honolulu, Hawaii) had 57 assists and 40 digs in the two matches as well for the Valiants.

There were no shortage of good stats in the five-setter versus Montclair State, but the team could not hold an 8-3 lead in the fifth set and suffered the loss. Morales and Branca tied for the team lead with 13 kills apiece, with the players adding 19 and 27 digs, respectively, to complete their double-doubles.

Camaj and Gomes also had solid double-doubles as well: Camaj hit .409 on 10 kills and just one error and also dug out 10 balls, while Gomes had 32 assists and 20 digs to go with four service aces, four kills and a block.

In the day's second match against Farmingdale State, it was the attacking tandem of Branca and Morales that combined for 26 of the team's 41 kills. Branca had a team-leading 14 kills and 23 digs, but she also committed 14 errors on her 42 attack attempts; Morales, meanwhile, added 12 kills, 15 digs and three aces.

Gomes also achieved her team-best 14th double-double of the season in the final match of the year, posting 25 assists and 20 digs.

With the year at an end, multiple Valiants found their way into the school's single-season record books led by Branca, who completed her first collegiate season with the second-most digs in a single season in Manhattanville history; the 412 digs accumulated in 2010 rank behind only the 566 dug out by Nicole Schnaars during the 1996 season. In addition, Gomes' 366 digs rank eighth on the school's single-season list as well.

Gomes also concludes the season with 589 assists in her first full season as the setter, the fourth-highest total in school history and the most by a Valiant since Lu Bono '02 had 666 helpers in 1999. Morales, meanwhile, finished the season with 224 kills, the eighth-most in program history and the most since Rebecca Magnuson '02 registered a program-record 258 kills in 2001.

Manhattanville posted a 10-21 (0-7 Freedom) record under first-year head coach Dan Cruz, the most wins by a Valiant volleyball team since 2001. The Valiants will return all six players from this year's roster in 2011.