Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville women's volleyball team combined for 24 aces and hit .233 as a squad as the Valiants retained Anderson Hill Road bragging rights for yet another year with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-14) victory over neighboring Purchase College in a non-conference matchup on Wednesday night at Purchase Gym.
 
The Valiants moved to 9-0 all-time against the Panthers with the three-set victory. The 24 aces are tied for the second-most by the team since the program was reinstituted in 2007, trailing only the 27 aces that were served – in five sets, however – against the Panthers on September 5, 2007.
 
The leader of the pack in that category was junior Susy Camaj (Lagrangeville, N.Y./Millbrook), who registered nine of the team's aces to move into a tie for sixth place on the school's single-match list, while also adding seven kills, four digs and a block in the win. Freshman Patricia Alfonso (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Puertoriqueno de Ninas) also had a good all-around effort with six kills, seven aces and four digs, followed by classmate Jillian Chittenden (Rye, N.Y./Rye) with five kills and one error in 10 attempts (.400 hitting).
 
The first set looked like it might be a close one early on, as the teams exchanged mini-runs until the Valiants held a slight 9-7 edge. But up three at 12-9, Manhattanville then scored 11 straight points – including five Camaj aces during the run – to close the door on the opening frame.
 
In the middle set, Alfonso helped to give the team an early edge by rattling off eight straight points on her serve (helped by three aces) to take an 8-1 lead. After Purchase battled back to eventually even the score at 11-all, Camaj came back to the service line and again did plenty of damage, as four more aces contributed to an 8-0 run that helped give the visitors a two-set advantage.
 
The third set followed the same script, as seven straight points on Alfonso's serve kickstarted a decisive 16-2 run early in the frame that closed the door on any idea of a Purchase comeback attempt.
 
Manhattanville (3-1) will compete in its first match outside of Purchase this weekend, when the team takes part in the two-day Old Westbury Panther Volleyball Invitational beginning with matches against Montclair State and the host Panthers on Saturday.