PURCHASE, N.Y. — The Manhattanville College women's volleyball team continued its early-season success Saturday morning, Sept. 8, picking up two non-conference victories during a home tri-match at Kennedy Gymnasium against Rosemont College and Rutgers University-Newark.
Match No. 1
The Valiants (5-1) began the morning bright and early with an 8:00 a.m. start against Rosemont (1-3), dispatching the visiting Ravens in straight sets, 3-0 (25-10, 25-6, 25-10). Manhattanville spread it around offensively as eight separate Valiants registered at least one kill in a true team-effort victory. Additionally, six players for the home squad registered at least two service aces, led by junior middle blocker
Steph Muller (Port Jervis, N.Y./Port Jervis)'s season- and match-best four. Overall, Manhattanville had 15 service over the three sets. Another factor in the Valiants' victory was their advantage in hitting — they limited themselves to 11 attack errors, while Rosemont notched 22.
The first set was back and fourth early, with Manhattanville up 6-4. The Valiants then took off, winning 13 straight points and 17 of the next 18 overall. They continued their hot play from the first set and started off the second on a 9-1 run to force an early Ravens timeout. The rest of the set was never really in question as they cruised to the 25-6 victory. The final set was the closest of the three in the early stages, as the squads were knotted at 7-7. The Valiants then went on a mission, taking 18 of the final 21 points of the set, including eight straight to start the run, and closed out the match for their fourth win of the season.
Match No. 2
Manhattanville jumped out to a two-set lead in this one as well, and looked to be headed to yet another three-set victory. Rutgers-Newark (2-2) was not to be denied extra volleyball, though, and fought back with a strong third set to force at least one more. In what turned out to be the decisive fourth set, things were tight until the very end with the Valiants winning by the smallest of margins, 25-23. Overall, the home squad came away with the 3-1 (25-14, 25-18, 14-25, 25-23) victory.
Hitters senior
Laura LiVolsi (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville) and junior
Austen Brauer (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) led the way for Manhattanville offensively against the Scarlett Raiders, notching 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Standout sophomore libero
Monica Lopez (Caguas, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame) was dominant once again, notching a match- and season-best 32 digs, while setters freshman
Sarah Camarena (Los Angeles, Calif./Sacred Heart (H.S.)) (19 assists) and sophomore
Rosie DeBellis (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) (14 assists) were key in setting up the Valiants' offensive attack all match long.
After controlling the first two sets, and suffering a tough loss in the third, the Valiants had to battle to win the final set of the match. They jumped out to a five-point lead (9-4), but Rutgers-Newark stayed resilient, eventually battling back and tying the game up at 17-17. The lead exchanged hands over and over until the squads were once again knotted at 22-22. Manhattanville, led by two Brauer kills, took three of the final four points en route to the victory.
What's next?
The Valiants are now off until Wednesday night, Sept. 12, when they begin Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom play on the road in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., against Wilkes University. First-serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
