PURCHASE, N.Y. – Senior
Austen Brauer (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) and freshman
Vianca Vital (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) had career nights Wednesday, Oct. 9, as they helped lead the Manhattanville College women's volleyball team to a strong five-set victory over Skyline Conference preseason No. 1 United States Merchant Marine Academy – arguably a conference championship preview – at home in Kennedy Gymnasium.
En route to the 3-2 (25-18, 18-25, 23-25, 25-18, 17-15) victory, the Valiants (14-5, 5-0 Skyline) had won the first set against USMMA (13-6, 6-1 Skyline) but dropped the next two. They were able to dig themselves out of a hole, trailing 2-1 overall and then down 8-1 in the decisive fifth set, and come away with the all-important home conference win against a Mariners' squad that had not lost in Skyline play since October of 2017.
Individually, Brauer notched a match- and career-best 28 kills on an efficient 60 swings with just six errors (.367). The senior outside hitter's single-match kill total is the second-highest in program history, behind only Alissa Primavera's 34 against FDU-Florham back on Oct. 30, 2013. For Vital – a three-time Skyline Rookie of the Week – she led all players with a season-high 50 assists, good enough to tie for third on Manhattanville's single-match record book.
The first set started in the Crimson and White's favor, and remained that way – including a nice 6-0 run to jump out to a 20-12 lead – as they took the early 1-0 advantage. However, momentum swung the way of Merchant Marine for the following two sets to give the road team a 2-1 match lead. Needing a set win to keep the match alive, the Valiants did just that and were able to pull out the seven-point advantage to force a fifth and final set.
Manhattanville stumbled out of the gates to start the final game and quickly fell behind 8-1 as the teams switched sides halfway through the set. Three monster kills and an ace from Brauer, as well as a kill from sophomore
Alejandra Figueroa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Rosa-Bell), brought the Valiants back to within two points at 9-7. The squad eventually chipped away with a point here and two points there and suddenly the set was tied at 11-11 – then 12-12, 14-14 and 15-15. Ultimately, following an attacking error by USMMA, Figueroa was able to seal it with the final kill of the match to give Manhattanville the 17-15 set and 3-2 overall victory.
Highlights:
- Brauer added three aces and a pair of digs to her night, while Vital notched yet another double-double – her 13th of the year – with 17 digs to go with three kills and an ace.
- Figueroa had a career night as well, totaling 19 kills on 48 swings with seven errors (.250) and was just two digs shy of a double-double with eight.
- Rookie libero Geena Torres (Middletown, N.Y./Pine Bush) led the Valiants with 18 digs to go with four aces and four assists.
- Freshmen Felicity Hoffert (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East) and Hannah Peña (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen) finished with four total blocks. The former added six digs and four kills, while the latter notched a pair of kills.
- Sophomore Emma Dronzek (Yonkers, N.Y./Sacred Heart) had three total blocks – two solo – to go with four kills on eight swings with one error (.375), an ace and a pair of digs.
- Sophomore Emily Gonzalez (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) stabilized the back row a bit and finished with seven digs of her own.
Riding a two-match winning streak, Manhattanville returns to play this Saturday afternoon, Oct. 12, in Newton, Mass., for a tri-match at Lasell University. The Valiants – squaring off with two-first time opponents – will face Colby-Sawyer College at 1:00 p.m., followed by the hosting Lasers at 3:00 p.m.
