DANBURY, Conn. – Opening up their weekend action at the WestConn Invitational, the Manhattanville College women's volleyball team got back into the win column with a dominant three set victory over SUNY Morrisville on Friday night. The victory (25-16, 25-13, 25-14) pushes the Valiants back to a game below .500 with a 3-4 record heading into tomorrow's trimatch.

The Valiants hit a season-high .373 in the win as they put an end to a two-match losing streak. The team logged 40 total kills, led by nine from Samantha Andriola (Garden City South, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy). The sophomore transfer set a new career-high with the effort, hitting .500 across all three sets. She was joined in the attack effort by the trio of Meghan Wildes (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa), Loren Hernandez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/American Military Academy) and Kayla Jennings (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland), all of whom put away eight balls.

Vianca Vital (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Perpetuo Socorro) totaled 33 of the team's 39 assists while logging six service aces. The grad student also added nine digs defensively, second to only Grace Ballagas (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) who recorded 11 digs in her libero role.

Manhattanville dominated for most of the match, only briefly trailing to open the first two sets. After the Valiants collected the opening two points of the night, Morrisville responded by jumping out to a 5-3 lead. It would be the biggest deficit the Vals would face all night as a five point run by Manhattanville put the Crimson and Black ahead 8-5, a lead they would hold for the rest of the frame. While the Mustangs got back within one, the Valiants rattled off another five straight points to jump out to a strong 14-7 advantage. Manhattanville successfully limited Morrisville's opportunity with the serve over the later half of the set, with the Mustangs only scoring one point while in control of the serve leading to the Valiants building up a 24-13 lead. The Mustangs would finally manage a run of three points, but it was too little, too late as Andriola recorded set point with a kill, 25-16.

After a service ace for the Mustangs opened up the second set, Manhattanville ran off nine unanswered points to get firmly in the driver's seat. Morrisville had no response for the huge run and would manage just three more points while controlling the serve for the rest of the frame. While the Valiants weren't able to match the length of their set-opening run, Manhattanville's sizable advantage allowed them to cruise to a 25-13 second set win on a series of smaller streaks.

The Valiants looked poised to run away with things again in the third set with a quick three points led by a pair of aces from Vital. While the Mustangs were able to keep within two points for the first half of the set, a 10-1 Valiant run allowed Manhattanville to climb out to a 19-8 lead. With the win in their sights, the Valiants traded jabs with Morrisvile for the rest of the frame to close out the sweep, 25-14. Alyssa Bucci (Rye Brook, N.Y./Blind Brook High School) closed out the night with a match-winning ace.

Up Next
The Valiants return to Danbury to conclude the WestConn Invitational tomorrow, taking on Hunter at noon for another neutral court tilt before taking on the hosting Wolves at 4 p.m.

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