MONTCLAIR, N.J. – The Manhattanville College women's volleyball team suffered its first tri-match loss of the 2015 season to host Montclair State University, but the Valiants bounced back to defeat Mount Saint Mary College and earn a split at the MSU Tri-Match, held on Saturday at the Panzer Athletic Center.
Sophomore
Kerry Mackey (Smithtown, N.Y./Christ the King) again was Manhattanville's top attacker on the day, leading the Valiants in kills in both matches and finishing with 26 kills on .370 hitting. Junior
Megan Quinabo (Pearl City, Hawaii/Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama) was excellent offensively and defensively for the Valiants, posting 68 kills and 39 digs to lead the team in both categories.
In the first match of the day, Mackey tied for the match-high with 12 kills, but a late rally by the visitors fell short as Manhattanville dropped a 3-1 (25-18, 25-13, 20-25, 25-22) decision to the host Red Hawks.
In addition to Mackey's 12 kills on .360 hitting, junior
Alissa Primavera (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) put down 11 kills and Quinabo had a double-double with 34 assists and 22 digs. Sophomore
Asia Reid (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Nellie A. Thornton High School) added eight kills, six digs and four blocks as well for the visitors.
The Valiants struggled offensively in the first set, recording only six kills to go with eight errors, to allow Montclair to take an early lead. The Manhattanville attack improved in the second set but so did MSU's, as the Red Hawks did not commit an error and put down 11 kills to take a two-set lead.
The third set was the most competitive of the match, featuring 12 ties and three lead changes. Montclair held a 19-17 lead late in the frame before Manhattanville finished on an 8-1 run, helped by two kills from Reid and Primavera and an ace from both Mackey and Quinabo.
Manhattanville had its best hitting set of the match in the fourth frame, putting down 14 kills with three errors for .224 hitting, but Montclair State also put down a match-high 16 kills in the frame to earn the win. The Valiants battled back from an early deficit to tie the match at 19, but a kill put MSU back on top and then the home team took advantage of four Valiant errors to close out the match.
The Valiants shook off the loss in its second match of the day, as the team came back from a first-set loss to defeat Mount Saint Mary, 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 26-24, 25-16).
Again it was Mackey leading the way with a match-high 14 kills, followed by classmate
Meagan Dattoma (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) with 10 kills and six service aces. Quinabo had another double-double, her 10th of the season, with 34 assists and 17 digs, while freshman
Christina Nardi (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) posted a team-high 24 digs.
After dropping the first set, Manhattanville worked hard to even the match in the pivotal second stanza. The hard-fought frame saw 13 ties and 10 lead changes, with the last tie coming at 19-all. Dattoma got the lead back for her squad with a kill to tie the score and then an ace on the subsequent point, and she added two more aces to go with two Mackey kills to help secure the set.
The third set also was crucial and close throughout, with the Valiants outlasting the Knights to take a 2-1 lead. Manhattanville looked to be in trouble after MSMC rattled off four straight points to take a 24-21 lead, but the Valiants killed off three set points on a Primavera kill and two straight from Reid, and then saw the Knights to commit two attack errors for the comeback victory.
Playing with a lead for the first time, Manhattanville finished things off in the fourth set, closing the match on a 10-4 run to pick up the victory.
Manhattanville (11-8) will get back to MAC Freedom play on Wednesday, when the squad travels to Delaware Valley University for a 7 p.m. match.
