MVille-William Paterson Boxscore
MVille-John Jay Boxscore

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Manhattanville women's volleyball kept itself above .500 on the season with a split at the John Jay College Tri-Match on Saturday afternoon at the Doghouse. After dropping a 3-1 (25-13, 21-25, 25-13, 25-16) match to William Paterson to start the day, the Valiants came back to earn a 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-16) win over host John Jay to pick up the split.

Junior Makana Gomes (Honolulu, Hawaii) led the way for Manhattanville with 19 kills, 27 digs, 38 assists and seven service aces in the two matches. Classmate Ally Johnson (Branford, Conn.) also reached double figures in three categories with 11 kills, 16 assists and 17 digs on the day.

Manhattanville earned a split of the afternoon by pulling out a straight-set victory over the host Bloodhounds in the final match of the day. No Valiant had an outstanding match statistically, but all six players recorded at least three kills and four digs on the way to the win.

The first set was tied at 16 before an ace by Gomes gave Manhattanville a one-point edge, and the Valiant lead grew to three at 20-17 on an ace by freshman Susy Camaj (Lagrangeville, N.Y.). The lead was down to two at 23-21 before a kill by junior Maggie Black (Seattle, Wash.) put the visitors one point away from the set, and a John Jay error on MVille's third set point gave the team the set.

The middle frame was similarly close, as the score was tied at 15-all. The Valiants built up a 19-15 lead with four straight points, and then came back with four more in a row on the serve of junior Ally Johnson (Branford, Conn./Branford) to take a 24-18 lead. After two set points were wasted, a Gomes kill finally gave Manhattanville a 2-0 edge.

Manhattanville led for almost the entire third set, and put the match away with a 6-0 run midway through that was helped by three straight Gomes kills.

Gomes led the team with eight kills and 19 assists, while also adding eight digs and three service aces. Classmate Damaris Morales (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) contributed six kills and a match-high 14 digs, while freshman Jocelyn Branca (Eastchester, N.Y.) led all players with five aces along with nine digs.

In the first match of the afternoon, Manhattanville went up against a tough William Paterson squad and came away on the wrong side of a 3-1 score.

Gomes recorded the second triple-double of the season and of her career in a losing effort, as she posted 11 kills to go along with 19 assists and 19 digs. The junior also led the team with four service aces and a .303 hitting percentage in an all-around good effort. Johnson also posted a double-double with 11 assists and 10 digs, and came two kills short of a triple-double herself with eight.

The first set was never really in doubt after the Pioneers used an 8-0 run to open up a 16-3 lead and never looked back. The Valiants fought back in the second, however, as the team won 12 of 14 points to turn a 14-11 deficit into a 23-16 lead and tie the match at one set apiece.

The third set went the way of William Paterson to give the team a 2-1 lead, and the Pioneers then forged a comeback in the fourth set to earn the win. The Valiants started the final frame strong by jumping out to a 10-5 lead, but six straight points on the serve of Jillian Bronowich put WPU back in front and they didn't relinquish the lead the rest of the way.

Manhattanville (5-4, 0-1 Freedom) will return to Freedom Conference play on Tuesday night, as the Valiants travel to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to take on Wilkes University starting at 7 p.m.