HOBOKEN, N.J. – Looking to bounce back from last night's hard-fought loss to Stevens, the Manhattanville College women's volleyball team notched a pair of sweeps at the Red & Grey Invitational hosted by Stevens Institute of Technology. The Valiants defeated Farmingdale State in what was considered a non-conference matchup 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-15) before registering another sweep against Brooklyn (25-14, 25-17, 25-16). With the wins, Manhattanville improves to an 8-2 record on the season.

Match One Recap: Manhattanville 3, Farmingdale State 0
The Valiants took the win in their first match of the day at Canavan Arena with a 3-0 sweep of the Rams.

The attacking effort was led by rookie Loren Hernandez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/American Military Academy) who logged a new career-high of 14 putaways. While Hernandez was the only Valiant to reach double-figure kills in the opener, Alejandra Figueroa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Rosa-Bell) posted six putaways while Vianca Vital (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) added five. Hernandez also added three service aces to a strong performance by the outside hitter.

In addition to her six kills, Vital was once again setting up most of Manhattanville's attacking chances with 25 assists. She also dug seven balls, matching Hernandez' total for the second-most in the game behind only Grace Ballagas' (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) 11.

Despite the final result, the Valiants got off to a slow start as a 5-0 run by the Rams put Farmingdale ahead 7-3. While Manhattanville was able to jump ahead with five unanswered points of their own, the Rams continued to push the score back to even, eventually playing to a 19-19 stalemate. Hernandez was able to put the Valiants back in front and earn the serve back with a kill before Caylee Premoli (White Plains, N.Y./School of the Holy Child) served the Valiants to five straight points to take the set. Included in the run were a pair of aces for the senior who would end the match with four.

The Rams would go on to lead for the first half of the second set, holding multiple four point leads building up to a 12-8 advantage. The Valiants clawed back to within two at 14-12 before going on an 11-2 run to completely swing momentum onto the other side of the court, now leading 23-16. The deficit was too much for Farmingdale to battle back from as Manhattanville went ahead 2-0.

After once again falling behind to start the third set, Manhattanville went on a 7-0 run to jump ahead 8-4. The Rams would respond quickly to even the set at 8-8, but three straight points by the Valiants put the Crimson and White ahead for good. Farmingdale would be held to no points while in control of the serve the rest of the way, allowing the Valiants to piece together multi-point runs and take the final frame 25-15 for their first win of the day.

Match Two Recap: Manhattanville 3, Brooklyn 0
The Valiants hit a season-best .330 in their second match en route to their eighth sweep victory of the year, blanking the Bulldogs.

Figueroa would play the roll of leading attacker in this one with 15 kills while Hernandez added nine and Meghan Wildes (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) collected eight. Wildes and Hernandez would both add a solo block in the contest as well. Vital once again led the way with 32 assists, while Figueroa had eight digs as Ballagas and Hernandez recorded seven each. Ballagas would also dominate on her serves with six aces.

After playing catchup multiple times against Farmingdale, the Valiants were able to control the first set against Brooklyn. The Bulldogs scored just two points off of their serves as Manhattanville methodically built up their lead. The Valiants' longest run of the set was just five points, but with Manhattanville preventing Brooklyn from doing much while in control of the serve the Valiants were able to cruise to a 25-14 first set win.

A quick 4-0 start by the Bulldogs in set two once again forced the Valiants to claw back from a deficit. Brooklyn would hold the lead up until their 15-13 advantage when Manhattanville's attack was able to string together an 8-0 run. Ballagas earned five aces in the run alone as the team jumped ahead for the first time in the set en route to the 25-17 win.

After playing to a 5-5 score in the third set. The Valiants would score five straight points to go ahead for good. The Bulldogs would pull back to within three, but once again Manhattanville was able to limit Brooklyn's serving opportunities and extend their lead, eventually putting an end to the day with a kill by Figueroa to bring home a pair of sweeps from New Jersey.

Up Next
The Valaints begin a four-match stretch of conference opponents on Tuesday, traveling to Maritime at 7 p.m.
 

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