PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College women's volleyball team defended their home court on Tuesday night, as the third-seeded Valiants swept No. 6 Mount Saint Mary College in the opening round of the Skyline Conference Championship. With the win (25-22, 25-6, 25-13), the Valiants will advance to their third-straight Skyline Semifinals.

Ayla Ruiz' (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Andrew's Schools) performance led the way as the sophomore was making plays all over the court. Her nine kills led the attack effort, while her eight service aces marked a new career-high. Ruiz would also earn 10 digs, trailing only Grace Ballagas (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) on the night.
  The rest of the attack effort was distributed across the floor, with seven different Valiants ending with a kill. Sofia Morales (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) put away seven balls, while Alejandra Figueroa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Rosa-Bell) and Hannah Pena (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen) each recorded six. Vianca Vital (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) and Felicity Hoffert (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East) notched four kills apiece with Loren Hernandez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/American Military Academy) rounding out the effort with two kills of her own.

In addition to her four kills, Vital recorded 27 of the team's 34 assists and finished third on the night in digs with eight.

It was a back-and-forth affair in the opening set, with both teams knowing it was win or go home. The score would be tied ten times during the frame, with neither team able to grab a lead larger than four. Tied 17-17, the Valiants would finally get some separation from the Knights with a 3-0 run. The teams would trade points with Mount Saint Mary keeping right on Manhattanville's tail as the Valiants maintained a 22-20 advantage. Kills by Ruiz and Pena brought the Valiants to the brink of victory, and despite two final points by the Knights, Pena would close out the set with another kill and put the home squad ahead with the 25-22 decision.

Riding the momentum of the opening victory, the Valiants erupted to a 7-0 lead to begin the second set. After Morales logged a kill on the Knights' opening volley, Vital took the serve to help add six more points to the lead. Mount Saint Mary was able to pull back within four, cutting the lead down to 10-6, but a Ruiz kill led to a sideout that put the sophomore on the service line. The serve would not return back to the other side of the court as Ruiz piloted a 14-0 run with six aces, leading the Valiants to the 25-6 set win.

The Valiants pieced together chunks of points to begin the third set, building up a 7-3 lead. The Knights closed the gap to a single point, but that would be as close as Mount Saint Mary would get. Runs of three and then four points for the Valiants reestablished some breathing room before Ruiz returned to the serving line leading 16-10. The Valiants scored seven straight points, including two more aces from Ruiz, to climb up to the 23-10 lead. The Knights added three points, but a service error put the ball back in the hands of the Valiants at match point. Ballagas sent the home crowd happy with one final ace, completing the sweep with the 25-13 win.


Manhattanville advances to the Skyline Conference Semifinals, where they will take on the No. 2 seed Farmingdale State College. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start on Thursday night.

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