Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville women's volleyball team made a gallant comeback after dropping the first two sets to Merchant Marine on Wednesday night, but the Valiants came up short in some key moments down the stretch and fell to the Mariners by a 3-1 (25-13, 25-22, 21-25, 27-25) score in non-conference action at Kennedy Gymnasium.
Manhattanville ended the evening with fewer errors than their Merchant Marine counterparts, 23 to 24, but the visitors pounded out 48 kills to the Valiants' 34 to pick up the win. Michelle Danhof and Cassandra Palma led all players with 11 kills for the Mariners, while Valiant senior
Susy Camaj (Lagrangeville, N.Y./Millbrook) posted a team-leading 10 kills in a losing effort.
Freshman
Megan Quinabo (Pearl City, Hawaii/Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama) had a nice game for the home team as well, posting her first career double-double with a team-leading 19 assists and 17 digs, while freshman
Sam Miano (Bronx, N.Y./Maria Regina) also made a good contribution with 15 digs, three service aces, two kills, two blocks and two assists.
The first set started off smoothly for both teams, as a Camaj kill gave the Valiants a 12-11 edge midway through the frame. But it was all Merchant Marine after that, as the visitors rattled off 11 straight points thanks to a strong jump serve from Jennifer Perkins that the Valiants had no answer for. Thanks to her serving, USMMA closed the frame on a 14-1 run that gave them the first set.
Merchant Marine looked to in control again in the second set, scoring 10 of the first 13 points to jump out to an early lead. But the Valiants clawed back, getting five points on Miano's serve to eventually get back within one at 17-16. But while the team was able to make the set interesting, Manhattanville never was able to tie the score despite getting within one on two more occasions.
Manhattanville was by no means dominant in the next frame, but the Valiants used a bunch of mini-runs and took advantage of some sloppy Merchant Marine hitting to get back into the match with a third-set win. The home team used three straight kills and a Palma attack error to open up a 14-8 lead midway through the frame, and then scored five straight points out of a timeout to take a 20-13 lead that allowed the Valiants to overcome a late USMMA run and take the set.
The Valiants also started strong in the fourth set, jumping out to a 10-5 lead and keeping the visitors at bay for most of the stanza. Manhattanville led by a 19-13 margin and looked poised to take the set, especially when a kill by Camaj gave the home team a 24-17 lead. However, things quickly fell apart for the squad after that, as the team's attack suddenly dissipated and Merchant Marine was able to stave off seven set points to even the score at 24. An attack error gave Manhattanville another set point but again they could not convert, and Perkins followed a Kelly Hodges kill with two straight kills of her own to improbably close out the set and give the visitors the win.
Manhattanville will head out onto the road for the next two and a half weeks, as the squad will not be back to Kennedy Gym until September 24. The 13-match road trip begins this weekend with matches against William Paterson and Farmingdale State on Saturday in Wayne, N.J.
