SCRANTON, Pa. – In their final competition before starting conference play, the Manhattanville College volleyball team dropped both of their matches in Saturday's tri-match at the University of Scranton. The losses move the Valiants record on the year to 6-3, and snaps a six-match win streak.

Match One: Scranton 3, Manhattanville 0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-23)
The Valiants suffered their first loss in 24 days at the hands of host Scranton to open up the day's contests. Vianca Vital (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) recorded her fourth double-double of the year with 13 digs and a team-high 27 assists. Grace Ballagas (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) was Manhattanville's dig lead with 18, while the attack effort was distributed across five players. Emma Dronzek (Yonkers, N.Y./Sacred Heart) had a season-high 11 kills against the Royals, while Sofia Morales (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) and Alejandra Figueroa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Rosa-Bell) added nine and seven putaways, respectively.

While the Royals jumped out to an early 5-1 advantage in the opening set, the Valiants hung around, ultimately pushing cutting the Scranton lead to two at 11-9. The Royals would get the serve back on a Figueroa attack error, kickstarting an 8-0 run that was too much for the Valiants to bounce back from.

The second set was a more back-and-forth affair, with the two teams battling to six separate even scores throughout the game. Manhattanville would take a number of early leads, but the Royals kept clawing their way back into the match just as the Valiants were getting momentum. With the score 14-11 in favor of Manhattanville, the Royals ran off four straight points to take the lead. The teams then traded three-point runs to push the score even at 18-18, but Scranton score another three unanswered points to go up 21-18 before ultimately putting the game away at 25-20.

Set three came down to the wire, as both teams continued to battle for momentum swings. After going back-and-forth to a 10-10 stalemate, the Royals scored four straight to take their biggest lead of the frame. In turn, the Valiants responded with five straight to retake the lead. The lead would switch hands three more times, but a crucial four point run to give the Royals a 22-19 advantage proved to be the difference maker as Manhattanville would come up just short, 25-23, to close out the first match.

Match Two: Stevenson 3, Manhattanville 1 (16-25, 25-21, 25-12, 25-15)
Figueroa and Dronzek led the attack effort in the second match, combining for 29 putaways. Figueroa matched her season-high from earlier in the week against John Jay with 15 kills, while Dronzek surpassed her first match totals with 14. Vital earned her second double-double of the day with 36 assists and 12 digs, while it was Ballagas once again leading defensively with 17 digs.

The opening frame was a story of runs. After surrendering the first two points, the Valiants scored six straight before the Mustangs scored four of their own to pull even at 6-6. With Stevenson leading 10-7, the Valiants ran off another six straight to reclaim a lead that would stay with them the rest of the set. Another six unanswered late in the frame put the Valaints ahead 23-13, allowing them to close out winners of the first game.

The Mustangs would shake off the first set, however, and win the next three to hand Manhattanville their second loss on the day. After a 25-21 second frame went in favor of Stevenson, the Mustangs held the Valiants to just three points off their serves in the third set, winning 25-12. The fourth set was a similar story, as Manhattanville was unable to control the serve and get sustained attacks going, ultimately falling 25-15.

Up Next
The Valiants now turn their focus towards conference opponents, as Skyline play gets underway on Tuesday night. Manhattanville will host Maritime College at 7:00 P.M.