PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College women's volleyball team celebrated Senior Night on Thursday by officially wrapping up the No. 1 seed for the 2023 Skyline Conference Championship Tournament, earning a three-set sweep victory over Maritime. The Valiants now hold an 18-9 overall record, finishing a perfect 11-0 against the Skyline.
Manhattanville dominated conference play this season, winning all 11 matches in three-set sweeps. It is the second time the Valiants have gone 11-0 in the Skyline in the last four years, also running the table in 2019 when the team won their first Skyline Conference Championship.
Prior to the start of the match, the team honored and celebrated
AngelaRosa Garofalo (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac),
Nina Melchiorri (Belle Harbor, N.Y./Scholars' Academy),
Sofia Morales (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) and
Meghan Wildes (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa), the four members of the Valiant Class of 2024.
Vianca Vital (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) led the effort as she flirted with a triple-double. The graduate setter finished with a team-high 22 assists and 14 digs while logging seven aces. Vital was joined in the defensive effort by
Grace Ballagas (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) with eight digs and Melchiorri with five.
The Valiants spread around their 36 kills on the night, with six different players logging a putaway.
Ayla Ruiz (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Andrew's Schools) finished with a team-high of nine, while Morales,
Loren Hernandez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/American Military Academy) and
Emily Brown (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Damien Memorial) each finished with six.
A back-and-forth start to the opening set brough the score to a 6-6 tie. A Privateer ball handling error gave the Valiants the lead and the serve, in which Ruiz logged a pair of kills and Alan Rivera served an ace to put the home squad up 10-6. The lead never dipped back below three, and after Maritime closed the gap to 13-10, the Valiants went on a 9-2 run to firmly take control up 22-12. From there, it was just a matter of time until Morales ended the set with a kill to take the frame 25-14.
The Valiants notched the first three points to begin the second set and never looked back, quickly running out to a 10-2 lead. Manhattanville used a number of long runs to march their way up to set point while also limiting Maritime's chances while in control of the serve. Up 19-9, the Valiants scored six straight points to take the set, earning the final point on Vital's ace.
Vital took the ball for the opening serve in set three, notching a pair of aces coupled with a Maritime ball handling error to take a 3-0 lead. Manhattanville once again took control once the back of a number of quick runs of points, leading 13-6. A service error by the Privateers began seven straight points by the Valiants to run the score up to 20-6. The match concluded following
Samantha Andriola's (Garden City South, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) fourth kill of the night, 25-10.
Up Next
The Valiants will conclude the regular season next weekend, competing at the NYU Tri-Match on Nov. 5. From there, the team will return home for the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament as Kennedy Gymnasium will play host to both the semifinal and final rounds starting on Nov. 9.
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