LA PLUME, Pa. – The Manhattanville College women's volleyball team could not close out Keystone College in a non-conference match on Saturday afternoon, as the Valiants dropped a 3-2 (19-25, 25-23, 17-25, 26-24, 15-7) contest at Ace Spalding Arena.
 
Senior Kerry Mackey (Smithtown, N.Y./Christ the King) led all players with 18 kills and a career-high seven blocks on the afternoon and also added seven digs. Classmate Meagan Dattoma (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) and junior Laura LiVolsi (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville) joined her in double figures with 10 kills apiece, while also chipping in 14 and 12 digs, respectively as well.
 
Freshman Keisha Schutte (Ewa Beach, Hawaii/James Campbell) also recorded a double-double with a match-high 44 assists and 10 digs to go with four blocks and two kills, and classmate Monica Lopez (Caguas, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame) registered 34 digs.
 
Manhattanville (12-9) took the first set behind a dominant defensive performance from Lopez, who had 15 digs by herself in the 25-19 win. Mackey also put down six kills on 12 errorless attempts, as the visitors closed the frame with a 7-2 run to earn the early advantage.
 
After Keystone (10-15) staged a late comeback to claim the second set, the Valiants never trailed in a third-set win. Up by one point at 15-14, the team finished the frame by scoring 10 of the last 13 points to take a 2-1 lead.
 
Manhattanville was six points from victory in the fourth set, as the Valiants held a comfortable 19-9 lead after a Dattoma ace. Despite allowing Keystone back in the frame, the Valiants earned their first match point at 24-19 following a Mackey kill; however, the visitors could not close the match out, losing seven straight points to send the match to a fifth set.
 
The Valiants looked to be in good shape in the fifth frame, scoring five of the first seven points to grab an early lead. But the Giants stormed back after that, recording 13 of the next 15 points to pull out the improbable victory.
 
Manhattanville will return to the court on Wednesday for its biggest match of the year, as the Valiants travel to FDU-Florham with a MAC Freedom Tournament berth on the line beginning at 7 p.m.