PURCHASE, N.Y. – Despite some promising efforts from its freshmen in their collegiate debuts, the Manhattanville College women's volleyball team dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Hunter College on Friday night at Kennedy Gym, falling by a 3-2 (22-25, 25-16, 21-25, 25-9, 15-11) score.
 
Freshman Monica Lopez (Caguas, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame) had a stellar match defensively for the Valiants, leading all players with 37 digs in her collegiate debut. The 37 digs match Christina Nardi in 2015 and Alyssa Casino '15 in 2012 for the most by a Valiant since the program restarted in 2007.
 
Classmate Ari Ramos (Commerce, Calif./El Rancho) had the team's only double-double with 24 assists and 15 digs, while senior Kerry Mackey (Smithtown, N.Y./Christ the King) led the team offensively with 11 kills. Freshman Keisha Schutte (Ewa Beach, Hawaii/James Campbell) also chipped in five kills, 14 digs and a team-best four blocks as well.
 
Hunter was led by a pair of middles, as Marlena Budna had a huge game with 11 kills, seven digs and eight blocks (five solo), while Kendra Moore had nine kills and six blocks to help stymie the Valiant attack. Taylor Haiduk also chipped in a match-high 16 kills for the Hawks.
 
Manhattanville took the first set despite Hunter using a late 7-2 run to tie the score at 21. The set was still tied at 22-all before a kill from junior Laura LiVolsi (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville) put the home team ahead, and that was followed by a Schutte kill and a LiVolsi ace to close it out. LiVolsi led all players with four kills on five errorless attacks in the frame.
 
After Hunter came back to take the second set, the Valiants claimed the third set behind the strong play of Mackey, who put down five kills on seven attempts and also added three digs and a block. The senior had a personal 4-0 run to turn a 13-12 deficit into a 16-12 lead, recording three kills and a block to put her team ahead for good.
 
Hunter responded again with a decisive fourth-set victory, setting the stage for the fifth and final set, where Hunter jumped out to an early lead and never let the Valiants get any closer than a 2-all tie early on.
 
The Hawks finished the match with 51 kills to the Valiants' 36, but the big different came at the net, as Hunter combined for 14 blocks while Manhattanville managed only six.
 
Manhattanville will be back in action tomorrow, as the team continues its tough early-season schedule with matches against the College of New Rochelle and Montclair State University in Montclair.