PURCHASE, N.Y. – Playing in front of a home crowd for the first time this season, the Manhattanville College volleyball team won both of their matches as part of Saturday afternoon's tri-match against William Paterson University and Baruch College. The pair of 3-0 sweeps improves the Valiants' record to begin the 2021 campaign to 4-1.

Game One: Manhattanville 3, William Paterson 0 (25-18, 25-10, 25-18)
The Valiants kicked off a busy Saturday afternoon on the Manhattanville campus by treating the home faithful to an opening match sweep. Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week Ayla Ruiz (Honolulu, HI/St Andrews Schools) picked up right where she left off in Manhattanville's last outings, leading the Valiants with 6 kills. Vianca Vital (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) found herself heavily involved in the Valiant offense, recording a season-high 29 assists. The junior also had 13 digs to go with her strong effort. Grace Ballagas (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) led the team with 22 digs in the opener.

The Valiants found themselves down early, trailing the Pioneers 6-3 to begin the first set. The deficit would be short lived, as a 7-1 run gave the Valiants the lead, never trailing for the remainder of the frame.

Manhattanville immediately took charge in set two, running out to an 11-2 start to open up the scoring. The Valiants would pull ahead by as many as 15 to decisively take the second set. While Manhattanville looked to be replicating that success in the third set with a 6-1 run to kick things off, the Pioneers would claw back to a 7-7 deadlock. The teams would trade short runs back and forth, but a crucial 4-0 run put the Valiants up 23-15 before ultimat6ely shutting the door, 25-18, to complete the sweep.

Game Two: Manhattanville 3, Baruch 0 (25-5, 25-9, 25-13)
The Valiants took their second match of the day in dominant fashion, sweeping the Bearcats to close out the day. The leaders from the opener once again made strong impressions with Ruiz leading the team in kills (11), Vital with assists (27) and Ballagas with digs (11).

Manhattanville found great success in their serving game, as five different players combined for 18 aces in the contest. Vital led the way with seven, while Ruiz added five and Emily Gonzalez (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) contributed three of her own.

After two quick sets that saw the Valiants firing on all cylinders, Baruch refused to go away quietly in the third. The Bearcats claimed leads of 7-5 and 9-7 early before the Valiants rattled of six consecutive points to take the lead they would never surrender. Manhattanville closed out a strong day on the court eight straight points to close out the contest.

Up Next:
Manhattanville looks to keep the good times rolling on Thursday when they play host to Montclair State University at 7:00 p.m.  

VALIANTS on SOCIAL MEDIA For the latest on Manhattanville Athletics, follow the Valiants via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. #GoValiants #RollVals