WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Manhattanville College women's volleyball team came up one match short in the push for its first-ever Freedom Conference Tournament berth, as the Valiants dropped a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-18) decision to Wilkes University on Wednesday night at the Marts Center.
 
The loss dropped Manhattanville (13-15, 3-4 Freedom) into a three-way tie for fourth place in the Freedom Conference with Wilkes (12-16, 3-4 Freedom) and FDU-Florham, which lost in five sets to DeSales tonight. The tiebreaker fell to percentage of sets won between the three teams, with the Valiants coming up short in that comparison.
 
Sophomore Alissa Primavera (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) posted a team-leading eight kills without an error, followed by five kills each from freshman Aly Pappalardo (Mahopac, N.Y./Lakeland) and junior Allison Regan (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel). Sophomore Megan Quinabo (Pearl City, Hawaii/Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama) also came one dig short of a double-double with nine to go with 17 assists.
 
With her eight kills, Primavera finished the year fourth on the school's single-season kills list with 265, while Quinabo's 17 assists give her an even 700 on the year, placing her third on that single-season ledger. Senior Alyssa Casino (Rye Brook, N.Y./Maria Regina) also had 12 digs on the night, as Manhattanville's all-time record holder finished her senior season with 431 to give her three of the top-five single-season totals ever at the school.
 
The first set was a story of three big runs, two of which went the way of the home team. After the Lady Colonels took 13 of the first 19 points to grab an early lead, the Valiants responded with an 8-1 run to knot the score at 14. But following a timeout, Wilkes closed the frame with an 11-4 stretch to take the first set.
 
The visitors simply had trouble stringing together points in the second stanza, getting consecutive points only once as the Lady Colonels took a 19-11 lead. An 8-2 run brought the Valiants back into the set, but the team could not get all the way back and fell behind by two sets.
 
Wilkes again jumped out to an early lead in the third set by following the same formula, using an 8-1 run to take an 18-8 lead. Manhattanville battled back with a 7-1 run to get within five at 23-18, but two straight points for the home team sealed the victory.
 
The loss brings a premature end to a tremendous season for Manhattanville, whose three wins in conference were nearly as many as in the program's first seven years in the Freedom Conference combined. The three conference victories also are the most by a Valiant side since 2001. The Valiants are set to return 12 of 15 letterwinners in 2015, as the Valiants expect to make another run at a postseason berth.