PURCHASE, N.Y. – They have done it! Following a long road through the regular-season, in which the Manhattanville College women's volleyball team posted a perfect conference record, the Valiants claimed the Skyline Conference Championship on Saturday night, Nov. 9, and punched their ticket to the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship. It is the first NCAA berth in program history, as Manhattanville defeated the United States Merchant Marine Academic in five captivating sets 3-2 (25-23, 30-23, 25-15, 22-25, 15-9).
With the victory, the Crimson and White (24-5) have now won a program-record-tying 12 straight matches and totaled the second most wins in a single season. Additionally, as rookie setter
Vianca Vital (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) set the program's single-season record in assists during the Skyline semis, so did senior outside hitter
Austen Brauer (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) tonight with the single-season kills record – she achieved the top spot midway through the second set against the Mariners (20-7). Overall, Brauer finished with a match-best 28 kills and eight errors on 64 swings (.313) and following a successful week in the tournament, was named the 2019 Skyline Championship Most Outstanding Player.
The match started out intensely, as the team teams battled back and forth throughout the first set, with neither gaining a distinct advantage. USMMA did jump out to an 11-4 lead early, but Manhattanville battled back via a 10-1 run to take a slim 14-12 lead. Eventually, the Mariners got back out on top 20-18, but the teams traded points until the set was tied at 23-23. Brauer notched a kill to make it 24-23, and sophomore outside hitter
Alejandra Figueroa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Rosa-Bell) finished it off with one of her own to put the Valiants up 1-0 early. Figueroa had a dominant night as well for Manhattanville overall, finishing with her second straight double-double, and fourth of the season, totaling 18 kills and five errors on 45 swings (.289) and 16 digs to go with three aces.
Set two was the longest of the night and the teams battled way past the 25-point threshold. Even throughout, the teams battled to a 24-24 tie before they literally traded points back-and-forth until a Brauer kill tied it up a 30-30. USMMA was able to get a kill and ace at the end to close it out and tie up the match. What followed was the night's quickest set as Manhattanville to a 2-1 match lead following the 25-15 third set victory.
The fourth set started out in the Valiants favor, and they looked poised to take the title in four. They sped out to a 17-8 lead, but the Mariners fought all the way back to within two at 22-20. USMMA closed out the set by winning the final five points and tied it up at 2-2. The fifth set, despite a brief 5-1 run for Merchant Marine in the middle, was never in doubt for Manhattanville. The Valiants were able to win the final set by six points and claim the Skyline Championship.
Highlights:
- Vital finished with match highs in assists (52) and digs (26) to go with four aces and two total blocks, including one solo. She also had four kills on eight errorless swings and helped set the Valiants to a .262 hitting percentage as a team.
- Freshman libero Geena Torres (Middletown, N.Y./Pine Bush) finished her night with 18 digs and three aces, and was just one assist shy of the double-double with nine.
- Rookie Caylee Premoli (White Plains, N.Y./School of the Holy Child) was strong in the backrow as well, finishing with a season-best 15 digs.
- Freshmen Hannah Pena (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen) and Felicity Hoffert (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East) both had strong nights at the net. Pena, a middle blocker, notched a season high with five total blocks, while Hoffert, a right-side hitter, had five total as well, including one solo. Pena also chipped in three kills and a dig, while Hoffert finished with nine kills and four digs.
Up next for the Valiants will be the first round of NCAAs. The selection show, where they will find out their destination for the program's first-ever NCAA postseason match, airs live on NCAA.com at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 11.
