PURCHASE, N.Y. – Five Valiants had at least five kills, led by sophomore
Asia Reid (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Nellie A. Thornton High School) with a match-high nine on .529 hitting, as third-seeded Manhattanville College dispatched the sixth-seeded College of New Rochelle, 3-0 (25-26, 25-18, 25-16), in the first round of the 2015 ECAC Div. III Metro/Upstate Championships, held on Wednesday night at Kennedy Gymnasium.
With the win, Manhattanville (18-9) advances to the semifinal round, where the Valiants will face second-seeded Kean University at Ramapo College on Saturday at 2 p.m. The winner of that match will move on to the championship match later that day against either top-seeded Ramapo or fourth-seeded Alfred State College.
Manhattanville had a well-balanced offensive attack lead it to a victory on Wednesday, hitting .257 as a team. Reid led all players with nine kills without an error, followed by junior
Alissa Primavera (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) and sophomore
Meagan Dattoma (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) with eight kills apiece. Sophomore
Kerry Mackey (Smithtown, N.Y./Christ the King) put down six kills on .357 hitting and senior
Allison Regan (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel) registered five kills on stellar .455 hitting as well.
Mackey also added three solo blocks and Primavera added a team-high 14 digs defensively for the Valiants, while junior
Megan Quinabo (Pearl City, Hawaii/Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama) had the match's only double-double with 28 assists and 13 digs along with a match-high four service aces.
The first set started fortuitously for the Valiants, with Reid beginning things with a kill and then six straight points on the serve of Quinabo, including four aces. The home team built up a 12-2 lead before New Rochelle responded to get back within four at 16-12, but the Valiants closed out the frame on a 9-4 run to take the one-set lead.
The second set was a very even frame at the outset, with the score tied at every number up to the 11th tie of the set at 11-all. At that point Manhattanville made its run, an 8-2 stretch that gave the team a comfortable lead and eventually a 2-0 lead in the match. The Valiants made only one error on 38 attacks in the set.
The home team never trailed in the third set thanks to back-to-back kills from Reid and Primavera to start the stanza. Primavera took over in the final set, putting down five kills on 10 errorless attacks, while Reid and Dattoma recorded three kills apiece to help close out the Blue Angels.
The victory is the first in an ECAC Championship for the Valiant women's volleyball program and gives the squad the most wins in a single season since 2000. Manhattanville will look for the first ECAC title for any Valiant sport since 2006 on Saturday.
