PURCHASE, N.Y. – Sophomore Meagan Dattoma (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) tied her career-high with nine kills to lead all players and Manhattanville College hit .257 as a team to pick up a season-opening 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-16) victory over Bard College in non-conference women's volleyball action on Tuesday night at Kennedy Gymnasium.
 
The win starts Manhattanville (1-0) off with a victory for the ninth straight season and featured a well-rounded offensive attack. In addition to Dattoma's near double-double of nine kills and a game-high 10 digs, classmate Kerry Mackey (Smithtown, N.Y./Christ the King) chipped in eight kills and eight digs while senior Allison Regan (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel) hit an even .500 with six kills on 12 attempts.
 
The first set of the night was the closest of the three, featuring five ties. The last tie came at 15-all, but that was followed by a 7-2 run for the home team that saw aces from Dattoma and junior Adrianna Alves (New Rochelle, N.Y./Maria Regina) as well as two kills from Mackey. The frame ended with a dump over the net by junior Megan Quinabo (Pearl City, Hawaii/Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama) for a kill, one of her three on the night to go with a match-high 27 assists.
 
Manhattanville was nearly perfect in the middle frame, putting down 11 kills with only one error for a stellar .417 hitting percentage. The Valiants jumped on Bard early by starting the frame on a 12-4 run, thanks in part to seven straight points on the serve of junior Alissa Primavera (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster).  Primavera also led the team with three kills during the frame.
 
The Valiants closed things out with an efficient third set, ceding the first two points before taking seven of the next nine to take the lead back for good. Dattoma helped finish off the Raptors with a team-best four kills in the frame, one that saw Bard register back-to-back points a mere four times.
 
Manhattanville will look to keep its winning ways going this weekend at the Centenary (N.J.) College Tri-Match on Saturday. The Valiants take on Penn State-Abington beginning at 2:15 p.m., and then face the host Cyclones at approximately 3:30 p.m.