PURCHASE, N.Y. – Kicking off the final week of the regular season, the Manhattanville College volleyball team earned a 3-0 sweep of Skyline Conference foe Sarah Lawrence College on Tuesday night. The win (25-17, 25-5, 25-7) keeps the Valiants in control of second place in the conference standings, improving to 15-6 overall and 9-1 in Skyline play.
Manhattanville use 42 kills to secure the victory over the Gryphons.
Ayla Ruiz (Honolulu, HI/St Andrews Schools) matched her previous career-high in kills with 18 on Tuesday, matching the mark she set against Mount Saint Vincent earlier in the month.
Sofia Morales (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) and
Alejandra Figueroa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Rosa-Bell) combined for 11 kills to account for the team's top attackers on the night.
Vianca Vital (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) continued to set up the offense as she has all season, posting 33 assists to go along with 14 digs for her third straight double-double and 13
th of the season. The junior setter is now just 34 assists shy of the second-most all-time in Valiants history.
Grace Ballagas (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) was once again the team leader in digs with 17, bringing her season total to 354. The rookie is on a milestone watch of her own, now 46 digs away from tying the tenth-most in a single season.
Caylee Premoli (White Plains, N.Y./School of the Holy Child) was also all over the court, setting a new season high with 14 digs.
The first set opened up with the Gryphons hanging tight with the Valiants. Sarah Lawrence tied the score three times leading to an 8-8 stalemate. After trading serves back and forth, the Valiants were able to piece together their first big run of the night, scoring nine unanswered points and forcing the Gryphons to use both of their timeouts to try and stop the damage. The hole was too steep for Sarah Lawrence to climb out of, as Manhattanville took the first set 25-17.
From there, the Valiants never looked back. Spotting themselves a 7-4 lead in the second set, Manhattanville went on an 18-1 run off the serves of Figueroa and
Kiera Charpentier (Mansfield, Conn./EO Smith) to make quick work in the frame. In the third, Vital would serve the Valiants to a quick 5-0 lead before Premoli guided another six-point run. Charpentier would close out the night by serving nine straight points, including an ace to seal the deal and complete the sweep.
Up Next
The Valiants close out both the road and conference schedules on Thursday, taking on SUNY Old Westbury at 6 p.m.
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