Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – Junior
Susy Camaj (Lagrangeville, N.Y./Millbrook) tied her career high with a game-leading 13 kills and sophomore
Veronica Ferreiras (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Malverne) added a team-leading 20 assists and six service aces to lead the Manhattanville women's volleyball team to 3-1 (27-29, 25-16, 25-20, 25-19) victory over John Jay in both teams' 2012 season opener on Friday night at Kennedy Gymnasium.
As the Valiants debuted a very young roster to start the new season, it was three of the team's returners who stepped up their games to pull out the four-set win. Camaj led all players with her 13 kills and also chipped in seven digs, two aces and a block, while Ferreiras had seven digs and two kills to go with her 20 assists and six aces. Sophomore libero
Alyssa Casino (Rye Brook, N.Y./Maria Regina) also played very well, posting a team-leading 16 digs to complement three aces and a pair of kills.
For John Jay, Martina Hot led the team with 12 kills, nine digs and a match-high seven aces, while Katherine Bonilla also had a good evening with a match-high 22 assists and eight digs.
The match featured an abundance of aces on both sides, as Manhattanville recorded 22 aces and John Jay earned 16 of its own. The 22 are the most aces in a single match by the Valiants since a win on October 23, 2009 against the same Bloodhounds squad.
The first set was a back-and-forth start to the match, featuring 10 ties and six lead changes as neither team was able to take control. The Bloodhounds made the first move when the rattled off seven straight points to turn an 11-9 deficit into a 16-11 lead, but the Valiants came back with a 9-4 run to knot the score at 20. Manhattanville was able to fend off one set point at 25-24 on a kill from sophomore
Mirusha Mujaj (Bronx, N.Y./Yorktown) and another at 27-26 on a Camaj kill, but a pair of Valiant attack errors finally gave the visitors the first set.
The home team came out strong to begin the second set, racing out to a 7-1 lead thanks to a pair of aces from freshman
Patricia Alfonso (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Puertoriqueno de Ninas) and four John Jay errors. But the visitors did not go away, battling back to tie the score at 16 and forcing a Valiant timeout. But after the break it was all Manhattanville – Camaj put the team back on top with a kill and Casino served out the set by earning eight straight points, helped by two aces and two more Camaj put-downs.
The third set was another close one, but the Valiants took an early lead and never allowed the Bloodhounds to get all the way back to even in taking their first lead of the night. Five straight points midway through the set gave the home team a 16-11 lead, and while the lead never grew more than that it also never completely disappeared despite shrinking to one on one occasion.
John Jay got out quickly in the fourth set, scoring five of the first six points, but Manhattanville stormed right back with a 10-2 run to take an 11-7 advantage. Once again, the Valiants were able to hold off the visitors thanks to a team-leading three kills in the set from Alfonso.
Manhattanville (1-0), which extends its winning streak in season-openers to six straight, will return to action tomorrow as the Valiants host Bard and Marywood for a tri-match at Kennedy Gym beginning with the Valiants and Raptors at 11 a.m. Both Valiant matches on the day will be video streamed live on GoValiants.TV.
