WILLIAMSPORT, PA. – The Manhattanville College volleyball team got into the win column for the first time in 2021 on Friday, completing a doubleheader sweep of Lycoming College and La Roche University. The pair of 3-0 wins improves the Valiants' record on the young season to 2-1.

Game One: Manhattanville 3, Lycoming 0 (25-13, 25-17, 26-24)
Eight different Valiants recorded a kill in the opener, led by nine courtesy of Ayla Ruiz (Honolulu, HI/St Andrews Schools). The freshman also had six digs in Game One. Speaking of digs, Ruiz' classmate Grace Ballagas (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) led Manhattanville with 15 in her career debut. Militza De Hostos Gonzalez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/) also made her presence known, racking up 20 assists to accompany her eight digs.

The Valiants found themselves behind early, facing an 11-7 deficit in the opening set, but Manhatanville was able to rattle off 11 unanswered points to pull ahead and ultimately take the first frame. The second set told a similar story, as a 7-0 run midway through proved to be too much for the Warriors to respond to.

The final set was a more back-and-forth affair. After six unanswered Lycoming points put the Warriors ahead 12-5, the Valiants were able to swing the score back in their favor with a seven point run of their own to take the 15-13 advantage. With Manhattanville leading late 22-18, the Warriors were able to score another six consecutive points to pull ahead 24-22, on the verge of forcing a fourth set. However, the Valiants were able to regain the serve following a bad Lycoming set. Felicity Hoffert (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East) and Alejandra Figueroa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Rosa-Bell) delivered vital kills before the Valiants were able to secure the win on a Warrior attack error.

Game Two: Manhattanville 3, La Roche 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-15)
Right back at it later in the day, Ruiz was once again the Valiants leading attacker with a season-high 13 kills. De Hostos Gonzalez also put on a repeat performance with 23 of the team's 28 assists. Defensively, the Valiants recorded 56 digs, including double-digit efforts from Ballagas (14) and Figueroa (12).

Manhattanville also posted 13 aces off their serves in the backend of the doubleheader, with Caylee Premoli (White Plains, N.Y./School of the Holy Child) leading the squad with four.

The Valiants never trailed in any set by more than three points, and were able to jump out to an early 5-1 advantage in the opening set that would set the tone for the remainder of the match. Manhattanville would use a pair of five-point runs in the third set to close out the day on a clean sweep.

Up Next
Manhattanville will wrap up the season-opening road trip on Wednesday at Wellesley College. Match time between the Valiants and the Blue is scheduled for 7:00 P.M.

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