PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College women's volleyball team picked up its first MAC Freedom victory of the season in thrilling fashion on Tuesday night, defeating Wilkes University by a 3-2 (25,19, 20-25, 25-23, 28-30, 15-13) score at a raucous Kennedy Gymnasium.

Senior Asia-Morgohn Reid (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Nellie A. Thornton) led Manhattanville (7-3, 1-1 MAC Freedom) with a season-high 15 kills, while Junior Laura LiVolsi (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville) added 13 kills and senior Kerry Mackey (Smithtown, N.Y./Christ the King) hit a game-high .429 with 12 kills and no errors on 29 attempts; Mackey moved into third place on the school's career kills list during the match and currently sits 32 kills away from the 863 career kills of Susy Camaj '14 for second-place all-time.

Freshman Monica Lopez (Caguas, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame) had another highlight-reel night for the Valiants, registering 39 digs and also adding seven assists and four kills, while classmate Ari Ramos (Commerce, Calif./El Rancho) had another big double-double with a season-high 45 assists and 21 digs. Ramos' 45 assists are tied for ninth on the school's single-match list.

Manhattanville started the night off strong, scoring the match's first three points en route to a 10-5 first set lead. The Valiants maintained at least a two-point led the rest of the set, winning by a 25-19 margin.

The Valiants started the second set much like the first, taking seven of the first 10 points. Wilkes (4-7, 0-2 MAC Freedom), however, took control from there, winning 22 of the next 35 points, highlighted by five kills from Alex Ferrier, squaring the match at one set apiece.

The match, and perhaps Manhattanville's conference tournament hopes, turned early in the third set, when incredible hustle from Livolsi and Lopez extended a rally and turned a sure-fire Wilkes point into one of Mackey's 12 kills and a rousing ovation from the Kennedy Gym crowd (see video of the play here). The Valiants rode the momentum of the incredible point in taking nine of the proceeding 12 points for a 12-7 advantage. Wilkes rallied for five straight points to tie the set, as the two teams went back and forth from there, trading four- or five-point runs. The Valiants had the final say in the set, taking the final three points.

Manhattanville held slight control during the fourth set, leading from the opening point until their first match point at 24-23. A service error gave Wilkes an opportunity, but two kills and a block from Reid and freshman Keisha Schutte (Ewa Beach, Hawaii/James Campbell) gave the Valiants a second match point. Two kills from Milkovich were enough for the Colonels from there to push the match to a fifth set.

In a night full of nail-biting moments, the fifth set provided the lion's share of them, as the final stanza provided ties on eight separate occasions, before the Valiants pulled just far enough ahead to hold off one last rush from Wilkes, an error from Ferrier providing the winning score.

The Valiants will hit the road this Saturday for two non-conference matches, facing Baruch College and St. Joseph's (L.I.) College in Patchogue, N.Y. at 12:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. respectively. The team will return to conference play next Wednesday, the 27th, on the road at Misericordia at 7:00 p.m.