DALLAS, Pa. – For the first time this season, the Manhattanville College women's volleyball team swept a tri-match as the Valiants notched wins against Misericordia and SUNY Geneseo. With the pair of five-set victories, the Valiants climb to 16-9 overall, now having won seven straight matches.

Match One Recap: Manhattanville 3, Misericordia 2 (12-25, 25-16, 18-25, 25-21, 15-10)
The first of two marathon outings, the Valiants were able to outlast hosting Misericordia in five sets to begin the days action.

Sofia Morales (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) led the attacking effort with a career-high 15 kills. It was the second time this season that the senior reached double-digit kills, with her other being a 10 kill performance against Ramapo way back on Sept. 5. Ayla Ruiz (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Andrew's Schools) and Loren Hernandez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/American Military Academy) also surpassed double figures as the duo finished with 13 kills each.

Vianca Vital (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) logged her ninth double-double of the season, leading the Valiants with 36 assists and 11 digs. Defensively, she was followed by Hernandez' nine digs and Grace Ballagas' (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) seven. The junior Ballagas also matched her season-high of seven assists in the victory.

It was a slow start to the day for Manhattanville as the Valiants were able to log just four kills in the opening set. Misericordia, meanwhile, came out firing, logging 12 kills while hitting .556 in the opening frame. It was an immediate gut punch for the Vals who found themselves down 6-0 to open up the match. While Manhattanville responded with three straight points to cut the deficit in half, the visiting squad would be held to just one more point while in control of the serve for the remainder of the set. The Cougars pounced, quickly building up their lead and winning the set after blocking an attack effort by Ruiz, 25-12.

The Valiants were able to shake off the rough start by hitting a match-high .429 in the second set. The result as Manhattanville staking claim to an 8-2 advantage that the Cougars were unable to fight back from. Misericordia pulled back within three at 9-6, but a 5-0 run for the Valiants featuring a pair of Vital kills and two aces by Kayla Jennings (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) reestablished breathing room. The teams traded points up to a 20-15 Valiant lead where Manhattanville notched five of the final six points, evening the match up with a 25-16 win via a Meghan Wildes (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) kill.

The Cougars responded by once again hitting .556 in the third set, playing nearly flawlessly to retake the match lead. While the Valiants were the beneficiaries of the first run of the frame, scoring four straight to go up 5-2, Misericordia went in front soon after following a five-point run that saw three straight aces by Jenna Schuda to go up 9-7. Four more lead changes saw the Cougars go up 17-14, a lead erased following a three-point string by the Valiants. However, the Cougars rattled off six unanswered points to firmly retake control with a 23-17 lead, winning the set three points later.

With their backs against the wall, the Valiants would notch wins in the following two sets to complete the comeback and win the match. A back-and-forth fourth set saw eight different tied scores. Neither team's lead eclipsed two points through the early going, with the Cougars nursing a 14-13 advantage. A service error tied up the set and was the momentum swing the Valiants were looking for all frame as the team scored nine unanswered points. Morales capped off the run with three straight kills to put Manhattanville up 22-14.  While Misericordia was able to get back into it with six of the next seven points, it was too little, too late as Morales and Ruiz logged the final two kills needed to secure the 25-21 win and send the match to a fifth set.

The Valiants took a 4-1 lead to open up the deciding set. Misericordia would play from behind for the remainder of the set, unable to successfully close the gap. Despite cutting the lead down to one point on two occasions, Manhattanville went on a crucial 5-1 run to go up 10-5. The Cougars would be unable to claw back one last time as a pair of kills by Hernandez followed by a block by Vital and Emily Brown (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Damien Memorial) wont the match for the Valiants, 15-10.

Match Two Recap: Manhattanville 3, SUNY Geneseo 2 (25-13, 17-25, 13-25, 28-26, 15-12)
Riding high off the win in the opening endurance test, the Valiants found themselves locked in another marathon affair to close out their trip to the Keystone State, taking a five-setter over SUNY Geneseo.

It was another double-double for Vital who notched 30 assists and 15 digs. Ballagas took the lead in the defensive effort with 20 digs, while Ruiz added eight.

Hernandez' 20 kills led both teams' offensive efforts, while Ruiz added 14 putaways.

Opening the battle of Valiants vs Knights, Manhattanville hit .243 while Geneseo finished with a negative hitting percentage in the opening set. After battling to a 7-7 score, the Valiants went on a 7-1 run to take a commanding 15-8 advantage. Geneseo would be unable to get much going offensively as Manhattanville notched five of the final six points to take the first frame 25-13.

The Knights bounced back by taking the second set as the Valiants committed eight errors after not having a single attacking miscue in the opening frame. Geneseo took a 7-5 lead on a three point run, building up to a 17-10 advantage as the Valiants would be unable to do much while in control of the serve. Manhattanville finally got a run together with four straight points to pull back within three, but Geneseo responded with five straight of their own to go up 22-14. The Vals would be unable to make up the distance with he score working against them as the Knights won their first set 25-17.

The Valiants' hitting woes continued into the third set as the team's nine errors matched their nine kills. Geneseo, meanwhile, hit a match-best .276 as they ran out to a commanding 15-2 lead. There was little the Valiants could do to climb out of the hole as the Knights took the set 25-13.

Finding themselves down 2-1 for the second time on the day, the Valiants once again rose to the occasion to win the match. Manhattanville struck with the first three points of set four, but the Knights used a six-point run a short while after to take a 9-6 lead. The Valiants tied things up at 9-9, the first of six different tied scores leading up to a 20-20 stalemate. A Geneseo service error sent the serve back in the hands of the Valiants, as a Knight attack error and back-to-back kills by Hernandez put the Valiants on set point, 24-20. The Knights, however, were determined to end things here as a Tori Tripp kill followed by three straight aces by Jenna Garvey tied things back up at 24-24. From there, the teams traded blows back and forth to a 26-26 score. Hernandez regained the lead for the Valiants before a Geneseo attack error finally brought an end to the set with a 28-26 Valiant win.

The Valiants would not commit an attacking error in the deciding set to go on to win the match. Neither team was able to piece together a run of more than two consecutive points, but the Valiants were able to make the most of their opportunities with the serve on their side of the court. Tied 7-7, a Hernandez kill and bad Geneseo set put the Valiants up with what would prove to be the final lead of the affair. Manhattanville notched a trio of two point runs to inch closer to match point, up 13-9. The Knights scored the next two before a Ruiz kill put the Valiants on the brink of victory. Geneseo logged one final point, but a bad set spelled an end to the day as Manhattanville claimed the 15-12 win.

Up Next
The Valiants play host to Yeshiva on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in a skyline Conference tilt.

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