PURCHASE, N.Y. – Led by a match-high 17 kills from sophomore Alissa Primavera (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster), the Manhattanville College women's volleyball remained firmly in the hunt for a Freedom Conference postseason berth with a huge 3-2 (25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-13) victory over Delaware Valley College on Wednesday night at Kennedy Gymnasium.
 
The win moves Manhattanville (11-13, 2-3 Freedom) into a three-way tie with Wilkes and FDU-Florham for fourth place in the conference standings with two matches remaining. The Valiants already own the tiebreaker with the Devils after an early-season win and still have to face the Lady Colonels on October 29. For Manhattanville, the win also marks the first time since joining the conference in 2007 that the squad has won more than one Freedom match in a season.
 
In addition to Primavera's customary production, freshman Kerry Mackey (Smithtown, N.Y./Christ the King) had a big night with 11 kills – including the final two points of the match –  and junior Allison Regan (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel) chipped in 10 kills and three blocks. Freshman Meagan Scanlon (Armonk, N.Y./Byram Hills) was also huge at the net for the Valiants with four blocks.
 
Sophomore Megan Quinabo (Pearl City, Hawaii/Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama) added Manhattanville's only double-double of the night with 39 assists and 12 digs to go with four aces, while senior Alyssa Casino (Rye Brook, N.Y./Maria Regina) chipped in a match-high 33 digs of her own.
 
For Delaware Valley (4-17, 0-5 Freedom), Maria Cameron had a big match with 16 kills, 12 digs and six blocks, including four solo blocks. Gina Page added 12 kills and 19 digs, while Crystal Ronan wreaked havoc all night long with 30 assists, 22 digs, six aces and three kills.
 
The decisive fifth set was appropriately close throughout, with the Valiants grabbing a 7-4 lead after a Cameron attack error and back-to-back kills from Primavera. The Valiant lead grew to 10-6 on another Primavera put down and also stood firm at 12-8 before one final DelVal run, as three straight Cameron kills made it a 12-11 score. Manhattanville caught a huge break when Ronan served out of bounds to get her off the service line, but two subsequent Aggie points still made it a 13-13 match.
 
The point of the night came soon after, when sophomore Sam Miano (Bronx, N.Y./Maria Regina) sprawled out to keep a Ronan attack off the floor, and a quick-reaction set from senior Veronica Ferreiras (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Malverne) resulted in a tip by Mackey that landed on the DelVal side to bring up match point. After Manhattanville fended off three Aggie attacks on the next point, Mackey put down her 11th kill of the match to secure the huge conference victory for the Valiants.
 
A fifth set didn't seem likely after Manhattanville got off to a flying start at the beginning of the match, as the home team jumped out to a 14-5 lead early on. But in a sign of things to come, Delaware Valley did not go away, eventually getting the deficit down to four at 19-15 after a Cameron ace. However, two Primavera kills and a Quinabo ace settled the squad down somewhat and the Valiants held on for a win to open the match.
 
The pivotal third set was a come-from-behind victory for the Valiants, who trailed 14-9 after an attack error forced a timeout. The deficit was still four at 17-13 before a Regan kill and four straight points on Casino's serve put the home team up 18-17. Knotted up at 20, Manhattanville responded with five kills to close things out, with Mackey and Primavera both recording two each before Quinabo ended the frame on a well-placed dump over the net.
 
Manhattanville will return to non-conference action on Saturday, when the Valiants make the short trip to the Bronx to take on Lehman College beginning at noon.