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PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville women's volleyball team continued its strong start to the 2011 campaign on Wednesday night in front of a loud Kennedy Gymnasium crowd, as the Valiants matched the best start to a season in program history with their fourth straight victory, a 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-9) sweep of John Jay College.
The four wins to begin the season match the record set by last season's squad, while the team's four home victories are already the most for the program in a single season since the 2001 edition went 5-3 on the Kennedy Gym court.
It was yet another very balanced attack for the Valiants against the Bloodhounds, as no Manhattanville player had more than six kills on the night. Senior Makana Gomes (Honolulu, Hawaii/'Iolani) and sophomore Susy Camaj (Lagrangeville, N.Y./Millbrook) shared the match-high with their six kills, followed by senior Damaris Morales (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic/Colegio San Jose) and freshman Sam Delmer (Boise, Idaho/Eagle) with four apiece. Delmer also added a match-leading 15 digs and fellow freshman Veronica Ferreiras (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Malverne) chipped in a match-best 16 assists and six service aces as well.
For John Jay, Martina Hot tied for the match-high with six kills and added a team-leading eight digs, while Katherine Bonilla had a team-best 10 assists.
The first set was a bit of a struggle for the home team, as the Valiants jumped out to a 12-6 lead only to have John Jay score 10 of the next 14 points – including six straight on the serve of Kathleen Estevez – to tie the score at 16. But a Bloodhound service error put Manhattanville back up by one and the squad followed by running off seven of the last eight points to gain the early edge.
The middle frame was a much easier affair, as Manhattanville jumped out to an 11-2 lead and never looked back. Camaj had four kills in five attempts to lead the Valiant charge, as the home team put down 12 kills and hit a match-high .286. The third set followed much the same course, as Ferreiras recorded four aces on her serve to help build up a 9-2 advantage that was never challenged by the visitors.
Manhattanville (4-0) will look for a program-record fifth straight win to begin the season on Friday night, as the Valiants travel to Sarah Lawrence for their first away match of the 2011 campaign. John Jay (0-2) will take on Staten Island and City College in a CUNYAC Tri-Match on Saturday afternoon.
