PURCHASE, N.Y. – The top-seeded Manhattanville College women's volleyball team earned a thrilling five-set victory on its home court Thursday night, Nov. 7, to advance to the Skyline Conference Tournament finals – which the Valiants will host – by defeating fifth-seeded Farmingdale State College 3-2 (25-15, 23-25, 25-15, 19-25, 15-8).
 
Manhattanville (23-5) tied for the second-most wins in a season in program history with the victory, and are now just one win away from its first-ever NCAA bid. The Valiants will host No. 2 seed the United States Merchant Marine Academy – who they defeated in five sets in Kennedy back on Oct. 9 – this Saturday, Nov. 9, in a 6:00 p.m. match to decide it all.
 
Back to tonight's match, the Crimson and White started out fast with a 10-point win in set one, but came back down to earth in the second set as the Rams (15-14) took it by two, 25-23. One huge highlight in the second set for the Valiants, however, came from freshman setter Vianca Vital (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) when she set up classmate Felicity Hoffert (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East) for a kill to make it 13-12 Farmingdale. Vital notched her 831st assist of the season with that point, setting a new program single-season record. She finished the night with 60 assists – breaking her previous single-match record, which was set against these same Rams back on Oct. 17 – and now owns the top two single-match assists totals in program history.
 
The Valiants stormed back in the third set to seize momentum once again and went ahead 2-1 in the match following the 25-15 win. Unfortunately, Farmingdale State was able to hold its own in the fourth set and force a decisive fifth and final set once again.
 
In front a raucous home crowd, the Valiants did not skip a bit in the fifth and took control quickly, eventually jumping ahead 10-5. Manhattanville closed out the set with a fitting kill from senior outside hitter Austen Brauer (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) to end it and win the match in five back-and-forth sets. Brauer finished the night with a match-high-tying 22 kills on 50 swings (.200) to go with eight digs and three aces.
 
Not to be outdone, Hoffert – who missed the first match against the Rams last month – had the best match of her young career. The rookie right-side hitter knocked in career-best 22 kills on 42 swings (.310) and was a key component in the victory for the Valiants. Sophomore outside hitter Alejandra Figueroa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Rosa-Bell) was also key offensively, notching 15 kills and 12 digs for the double-double.
 
Defensively, Vital finished with 14 digs for her 20th double-double of the season, while freshman libero Geena Torres (Middletown, N.Y./Pine Bush) led all players with 22 digs. She also chipped in five assists and three aces. Rookie Caylee Premoli (White Plains, N.Y./School of the Holy Child) had her best night in a Valiant uniform with 10 digs, a pair of aces and an assist. Sophomore Emily Gonzalez (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) just missed out on double digit digs with nine.
 
As mentioned, Manhattanville returns to the court in a winner-take-all meeting with USMMA in the Skyline Championship this Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. in Kennedy Gym.