FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – For a third-straight season, the Valiants will be competing for a conference championship as the Manhattanville College women's volleyball team defeated Farmingdale State College 3-0 in the Skyline Conference Semifinals. The win (25-21, 25-22, 25-22) sets up a championship bout on Saturday against top-seeded United States Merchant Marine Academy.

The third-seeded Valiants were led offensively by Alejandra Figueroa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Rosa-Bell) and Felicity Hoffert (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East), with the duo killing nine balls apiece. Ayla Ruiz (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Andrew's Schools) added eight kills in what was another well-rounded performance on the court by the sophomore. Ruiz added four of the team's seven service aces while finishing with 13 digs.

Vianca Vital (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) and Grace Ballagas (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) each dug 17 balls to lead defensive play. Vital also accounted for 27 of the team's 33 assists, with Ballagas adding four and Sofia Morales (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) setting up two. Despite the Rams dominating net play with eight blocks to Manhattanville's zero, the Valiants were able to overcome Farmingdale's height in front to earn the win over the No. 2 seed.

In a trio of back-and-forth sets, the Valiants were able to pick up the sweep and avenge their regular season loss at Farmingdale back at the start of October. The opening set saw seven different tied scores as the two teams traded blows and side outs. Tied at 11-11, the Valiant were able to piece together a small 3-0 run to finally give one team some sort of breathing room. The lead would hole the rest of the way as Manhattanville built up to a seven point advantage at 21-14. Despite facing the largest deficit of the night at that point, the Rams roared back with five straight points to cut the Valiant lead down to two. A key Loren Hernandez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/American Military Academy) kill put an end to the run, allowing the Valiants to score three of the next five points to take the set off a Hannah Pena (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen) kill, 25-21.

A quick 3-0 start for the Valiants in the second set gave Manhattanville some wiggle room to open up the frame, building up to a 10-5 lead. However, Farmingdale once again showed their resiliency to claw back and even the score up at 10-10. Manhattanville responded in turn with a 5-0 run of their own and appeared to be in the driver's seat as the lead grew all the way up to 10 points at 23-13. The Rams had one last burst in them for the frame, scoring eight unanswered points to jump right back into things and cut the Valiant lead down to 23-21. It would be Hernandez once again putting an end to a Farmingdale comeback effort, as her kill would put Manhattanville on set point. The Rams would get the serve back, but an attack error granted the Valiants the winning point to take the set 25-22 and move one set away from returning to the championship.

The third set saw 12 different tied scores as both teams continued to match each other blow for blow. The Valiants would hold the largest lead of the early going of just two points at 15-13. After the Rams were able to pull back within a point, Manhattanville was finally able to rattle off the first long run of the frame with five straight points to go ahead 20-14. But as had been the case all night, the Rams did not go away quietly, responding with a 5-0 run of their own and ultimately tying the score back up at 21-21. A kill by Morales gave the Valiants both the lead and the serve once again, with Manhattanville earning two straight points to go up 24-21. Farmingdale regained control of the serve after pulling back to within two, but a Figueroa kill from Vital delivered the final blow to send the Valiants to the conference finals.

The Valiants will now meet top-seeded USMMA for the third-straight Skyline Conference Championship Finals match. After the Valiants defeated the Mariners to win the 2019 title, USMMA earned the crown in last season's championship match. Round three between the two programs is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m.

A fan bus for Manhattanville students wanting to attend Saturday's championship match will be departing from Spellman Hall at 2:30 p.m. Fans wishing to reserve a seat on the bus can email Geena Catalano at geena.catalano@mville.edu. 

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