BRONX, N.Y. – In a conference match that came down to the wire, the Manhattanville College volleyball team earned a hard-fought five set victory at the College of Mount Saint Vincent on Thursday night. The win (21-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-7, 15-11) gives the Valiants their fifth in a row and improves the team's record to 12-4 overall and 6-1 against the Skyline Conference.

The Valiants pulled out all the stops in their first five set affair of the season.  In what has already been a season full of great performances, Grace Ballagas (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) perhaps had her finest one yet with 45 digs. Beyond surpassing her previous high by on the year by a significant margin, the freshman libero earned her way into the program history books by tying the eighth-most digs by a Valiant in a single match.

Manhattanville had six players contribute to their 53 kills on the night, their second-highest kill total this season. Ayla Ruiz (Honolulu, HI/St Andrews Schools) led the way with a new season-high of 18 kills, bringing her season total to an even 100. Alejandra Figueroa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Rosa-Bell) and Emma Dronzek (Yonkers, N.Y./Sacred Heart) both reach double figures as well with 12 and 11 putaways, respectively.
The 50 assists on the night by the Valiants was also their second-most in a match this year. It was the usual suspect of Vianca Vital (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) who was responsible for most of them, getting credited with 42 assists. Thursday was the second time this season the junior eclipsed the 40 assist threshold, while she also collected her ninth double-double of the campaign with her 20 digs.

The Dolphins would take control on their home court early, claiming the first two sets. Mount Saint Vincent took the first two points of the night, a small lead but one that had the Valiants playing catchup for the rest of the frame. The Dolphins would use a 5-0 run to go ahead 11-5 for their biggest lead of the set. While the Valiants would chip away, eventually evening the score at 17-17, the Dolphins used a pair of three-point runs to get some breathing room a take the first set.
The second set saw 15 different tied scores, as both squads went tit for tat throughout the frame. Neither team pieced together a run higher than three points, with control of the serve switch sides at seemingly every other point. While runs were hard to come by, the Dolphins used a pair of crucial 2-0 swings at the end of the set to win 25-23 and go up 2-0.

With their backs to the wall and on the verge of losing the road tilt, the Valiants proved to be resilient and fight back into the contest. The third set started out suboptimal, as the Dolphins jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead. Manhattanville scored five of the next six points to pull back to even before going on a 5-0 run to pull ahead 11-8. Mount Saint Vincent evened the score up at 11, but after a three point string put Manhattanville ahead 14-11, the Valiants never looked back. The Dolphins pulled to within one six times before all was said and done, but Manhattanville had just enough of an advantage to move the match to 2-1.

The Valiants rode the momentum into a dominant fourth set, scoring nine straight points to begin and building out to a 12-1 lead. The Dolphins only scored once off their serve as Manhattanville found their footing to force the decisive fifth set. After a 3-0 opening advantage for the Crimson and White, the two teams played to six different tied scores until being deadlocked at 9-9. Manhattanville scored twice off of Vital's serves to take an 11-9 lead, ultimately closing out the match with a pair of Figueroa kills to win the set by a 15-11 final.

Up Next
The Valiants look to match their longest winning streak of the season in their next outing on Monday night. Manhattanville travels to Saint Joseph's-Brooklyn for a 7 p.m. Skyline Conference matchup.

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