PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College women's volleyball team hung with conference preseason favorite Eastern University for two sets, but the Eagles eventually pulled away for a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-15) victory over the Valiants in MAC Freedom action on Tuesday night at Kennedy Gymnasium.
 
Manhattanville (10-4, 2-2 MAC Freedom) has its four-match winning streak come to an end and falls into fifth place in the conference standings with three matches still to go. Eastern (12-8, 3-1 MAC Freedom), which was coming off its first conference loss since 1999, remains in a three-way tie for second in the conference.
 
Senior Kerry Mackey (Smithtown, N.Y./Christ the King) put down a team-high nine kills and added three blocks for the Valiants, while junior Laura LiVolsi (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville) added seven kills and six digs. Freshman AnnaMaria Evers (Bronx, N.Y./Preston) had six assists and a season-high three blocks in less than one full set, while classmate Keisha Schutte (Ewa Beach, Hawaii/James Campbell) had 13 assists and two kills when pressed into setting duty.
 
Michelle Paulsen posted a match-high 11 kills on .526 hitting to lead the Eagles, while Ally Spillane and Caroline Shelby added 10 kills apiece.
 
Manhattanville started the match out by earning five of the first six points, as Mackey recorded two kills and two blocks to energize the Valiants and the crowd. But Eastern stabilized after that, scoring 13 of the next 15 points to take control of the frame. The Valiants never got closer than four points the rest of the way.
 
The second stanza was easily the most entertaining of the match, featuring 12 ties and five lead changes. After Eastern took an early 6-2 lead, Manhattanville went on a 7-4 run grab an 11-10 lead after an Eagle attack error. The home team hung with the visitors after that, eventually tying the set at 21 after a kill from senior Asia-Morgohn Reid (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Nellie A. Thornton), before four straight points gave Eastern a two-set advantage.
 
Eastern jumped out to an early 7-1 lead in the final frame and the Valiants never got closer than three points the rest of the way, as the Eagles hit .333 in the third set.
 
The Valiants will continue their challenging October schedule on Saturday, when the Valiants travel to Gettysburg College for a tri-match with the Bullets and Haverford College beginning at 3 p.m.