BOSTON, MASS. -- The Manhattanville College volleyball team was defeated in both ends of Saturday's tri-match at Emerson College. The Valiants were edged out by Bowdoin College in five sets before falling to host Emerson in three. With the pair of defeats, the Valiants have their seven-match win streak come to an end and fall to 14-6 on the season. 

Game One: Manhattanville 2, Bowdoin 3 (25-19, 22-25, 24-26, 25-20, 9-15) 

After emerging victorious in their first five-set affair last week, the Valiants were not as fortunate in Saturday's match that went to the brink against the Polar Bears. Manhattanville took the opener before dropping the next two sets, ultimately forcing the tie-breaking fifth set after picking up the win in the fourth. 

The Valiants had three players reach double figures in kills in their first match of the day. Ayla Ruiz (Honolulu, HI/St Andrews Schools) led the team with 16, while Alejandra Figueroa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Rosa-Bell) and Emma Dronzek (Yonkers, N.Y./Sacred Heart) had 10 kills each. The senior duo of Figueroa and Dronzek both also surpassed the double-digit threshold in digs to collect double-doubles in the opener. 

On the topic of digs, Grace Ballagas (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) was the team leader in the first match with 20. Figueroa contributed 16, while Dronzek matched Vianca Vital's (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) total of 14. In addition to her defensive efforts, Vital posted a new season-high in assists with 46. In the net game, Sofia Morales (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) had a team-best three blocks. 

Manhattanville ran out to a 7-0 lead against the Polar Bears in the first set. Despite facing the immediate uphill battle, Bowdoin hung around, cutting the Valiants lead down to as little as two. With the Polar Bears threatening to complete the comeback whilst trailing 22-19, Manhattanville capitalized on a Bowdoin service error before a Vital ace and Dronzek kill to take the set. 

After battling to six tied scores to open up the second set, Bowdoin went on a 7-1 run to pull ahead 14-9. The Polar Bears would continue to build upon their lead to 23-17 before the Valiants rattled off five straight points to pull to within one. The comeback fell just short, however, as the Polar Bears scored the final two points to even the match up at 1-1. 

Trailing 7-5 in the third, Manhattanville went on an 11-2 run to take momentum. But as had been the case in the previous frames, Bowdoin clawed back, ultimately fighting to a 19-19 stalemate. The score would move to 24-24 before Bowdoin recorded the two decisive points of the set. In another back-and-forth affair, the Valiants were able to gain enough distance to hold off another Polar Bear comeback in the fourth to push the match to a deciding fifth set. 

While Manhattanville scored the opening point, the Polar Bears immediately responded with six straight of their own, a hole too big for the Valiants to climb out of in the abbreviated set. The Crimson and White pulled to within one at 9-8, but Bowdoin scored six of the match's final seven points to secure the win. 

Game Two: Manhattanville 0, Emerson 3 (14-25, 20-25, 22-25) 

Host Emerson ended the night with a sweep of Manhattanville, the Valiants' first 3-0 loss since Sept. 25. Ruiz, Vital, and Ballagas once again were the team leaders in their respective categories. The freshman Ruiz recorded seven of Manhattanville's 27 kills, while classmate Ballagas had 14 digs. Vital also had 13 digs to go along with 19 assists. With the 65 combined assists across the two matches, Vital is now 67 assists shy of the second-most all-time in Manhattanville for her career.  

The Lions held the Vals in check in the opening set, limiting Manhattanville to just four points while serving. Emerson ran out to a 23-9 lead before the Valiants pieced together a 4-0 run, but the Lions made quick work of the first set, 25-14. Manhattanville fared better in the second, coming back from an early three-point deficit with a 5-0 run to take an 11-10 lead. The advantage would be short lived as Emerson went on an 8-2 run to get back in front en route to the 25-20 final. 

Attempting to mount a comeback and fend off the sweep, the Valiants fought hard in the third set. Manhattanville held a lead for much of the early going, and even after the Lions scored five straight points to jump ahead, the Valiants responded with five points of their own to go back in front. With the score evened at 19 apiece, Emerson scored twice on a pair of Valiant attack errors. The slim advantage was just enough for the Lions to work with, as Manhattanville could not pull back to even as Emerson took the third set, 25-22. 

Up Next 

The Valiants return home for conference play of Tuesday night, hosting Sarah Lawrence College at 7 p.m. 

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