PURCHASE, N.Y. – Playing in front of a raucous home crowd, the Manhattanville College volleyball team picked up their fifth-consecutive win on Thursday night, defeating Montclair State University 3-0. The win (25-19, 25-23, 25-17) was the team's fifth in a row and improves the Valiants' record to 5-1 on the season.

Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week Ayla Ruiz (Honolulu, HI/St Andrews Schools) continued was has been a stellar start to her collegiate career. The freshman led the Valiants with 14 kills. Her 73 putaways this season leads Manhattanville, and she has know reach double-digit kills in five of the team's six matches this season. She also added a season-high seven aces and eight digs. It was also a season-best outing from Hannah Pena (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen) who contributed eight kills of her own.

Vianca Vital (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) posted a double-double with 33 assists and 14 digs, both season-highs. Vital also had a pair of blocks in the match. Grace Ballagas (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) added 14 digs of her own, and has now reached double-figures in digs in her five matches played this year.

In a back-and-forth opening set, Manhattanville and Montclair State played found themselves tied seven times. With the Vaiants trailing 17-16, Ruiz strung together three aces on five serves to put Manhattanville ahead 21-17 before ultimately putting the set away with four straight points.

The trend continued for the second frame, with the Valiants and Red Hawks playing to 11 tied scores. Manhattanville was able to earn a couple of early three point leads, but Montclair State seemingly had an answer to every rally with points of their own. A 3-0 Red Hawks run put Montclair state up 22-21, but the Valiants would score four of the set's final five points out of a time out to close out the set.

The Valiants ran out to a 9-3 advantage to begin the third set, a hole the Red Hawks would be unable to climb out of. Montclair State would cut Manhattanville's lead down to as slim as three, but the Valiants responded with multi-point runs each time to close out the contest.

Up Next
Following a week off, the Valiants are next in action on Sept. 23 when they travel to John Jay College for a 7:00 P.M. match.

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