PURCHASE, N.Y. – Sophomore Alissa Primavera (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) led all players with a day-best 27 kills as the Manhattanville College women's volleyball team remained perfect at Kennedy Gymnasium this season with a pair of victories at the second Valiant Tri-Match of 2014, held on Saturday. The Valiants defeated Mount Saint Mary College by a 3-1 score in the first match of the day, then ended the afternoon with a 3-0 win over York (N.Y.) College.
 
Primavera had a great day offensively for Manhattanville (9-8), averaging nearly four kills per set and hitting .243 on the day. Freshman Kerry Mackey (Smithtown, N.Y./Christ the King) was the only Valiant in double figures with 14 kills on the day to go with four aces and a team-leading five blocks. Sophomore Megan Quinabo (Pearl City, Hawaii/Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama) had a good all-around effort with a day-best 55 assists, four aces and five kills, while senior Alyssa Casino (Rye Brook, N.Y./Maria Regina) led all players on Saturday with 28 digs.
 
Primavera was the main offensive force in the day's first match, leading all players with 16 kills as Manhattanville took the final two sets to defeat Mount Saint Mary, 3-1 (25-18, 12-25, 25-23, 25-21).
 
The sophomore was the only Valiant with more than five kills on the match, hitting .308 while also adding eight digs and a block. Mackey had five kills and three blocks for the Valiants as well, who overcome a slow start to record 22 kills in the final two frames in closing out the victory.
 
Manhattanville somehow came away with the first set despite recording only four kills, helped in large part by eight Knight hitting errors and eight service errors that gave the home team a majority of its points. The frame featured 10 ties and six lead changes, the last of which came on a MSMC service error followed by an ace from senior Amanda Materasso (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) that made it an 18-16 score. Two Primavera kills, a Quinabo ace and four MSMC errors followed to end the set.
 
After Mount Saint Mary cleaned up its play and cleaned up the second set, the teams settled in for two very competitive sets to close the match. Manhattanville battled out of an early 5-1 hole and the team went back for most of the third set, with the visitors eventually holding a 23-21 lead after a kill from Rachel Sabatini. But two Primavera kills and a Knight error brought up set point, and sophomore Sam Miano (Bronx, N.Y./Maria Regina) clinched it with a dump over the net for the kill. Primavera had seven of her team's 11 kills and hit .438 for the set.
 
The Knights started strong again in the third set, eventually forcing a Valiant timeout down 12-5. Manhattanville chipped away at the lead to get within striking difference, and the big swing came on Casino's serve when four straight Mount St. Mary errors and a Quinabo kill enhanced a 6-0 run that gave Manhattanville a 20-18 lead. Clutch kills by senior Veronica Ferreiras (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Malverne) and Mackey down the stretch helped the Valiants close out the Knights and start the day with a win.
 
The Valiants spread around the offense much more effectively in the second match of the day, escaping some mid-match jitters to sweep away York, 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-13).
 
Primavera again led the team with 11 kills, but she was complemented nicely by two nearly perfect freshmen: Mackey had nine kills on 12 errorless attempts (.750 hitting), while classmate Meagan Dattoma (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) also did not have an error to go with seven kills and a .636 hitting percentage.
 
The first set was not a pretty one for the home team, as Manhattanville fell behind by a 15-6 score thanks in large part to nine attack errors. But the tide turned after a York service error as Materasso earned 11 straight points on her serve to give her team back the lead, with four aces sprinkled in with a pair of Mackey kills. In all, the Valiants closed the frame on a 19-4 run to take the one-set lead.
 
After an efficient second-set one, Manhattanville showed the killer instinct with a nearly perfect third set, recording 15 kills with only one error to put away the Cardinals. Dattoma had a team-best five kills in the final frame, which saw the Valiants get five straight points on the serves of both Ferreiras and Quinabo on the way to a win.
 
The Valiants, who improved to 6-0 on their home court this season with the two wins, look to keep themselves perfect on Wednesday when the squad hosts Misericordia in a very important Freedom Conference matchup at Kennedy Gym beginning at 7 p.m.