PURCHASE, N.Y. – It was a historic night inside Kennedy Gymnasium on Wednesday as the Manhattanville College men's volleyball team took to the home court for the first time in their inaugural season. The Valiants treated the ever-lively Kennedy crowd to the first win in program history, sweeping Pratt in three sets. The win (25-21, 25-13, 25-13) has Manhattanville off to a 1-2 start to the year.

In what was a full team effort, Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East) found himself all over the court to lead the attack effort. Gandarillas had a team-high nine kills and six aces while finishing tied for the team's lead in digs on the night with six. He was joined atop the defensive category by Nash Torres (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Colegio Rosa-Bell) and Emil Morban Medrano (San Cristobal, Republica Dominicana/HS for Environmental Studies), while Wilton Martinez (Bronx, N.Y./Celia Cruz Bronx HS of Music) added five.
 

Medrano and Martinez each posted six kills to round out the offensive leaders. Idris Idris (Kassala, Sudan/JFK High School) and Pedro Barros Machado (Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil/Colegio Oficina) split setter duties over the course of the night, with both logging 14 assists.

The Cannoneers jumped out to an early 4-2 lead to open up the night's festivities. As the Valiants looked to find their footing, the home squad was aided by a number of Pratt errors that resulted in four straight Manhattanville points to put the team up 8-6. The advantage remained with the Valiants until Pratt brought things back to even at 15-15. There would be four more tied scores en route to a 21-21 stalemate. With Pratt in control of the serve, Gandarillas logged a crucial kill to kick off a 4-0 run capped by a Luis Granados (Pasadena, Calif./St. Francis) putaway to give the Valiants the first set, 25-21.

Shaking off the early set challenges, Manhattanville improved as the night went on, starting with a .286 attacking percentage in the second frame. Even at 2-2, a Granados kill was the first of four unanswered points that gave the Valiants a lead they would not surrender. Leading 7-4, the Vals notched eight of the next ten points to jump out to a 15-6 advantage, Pratt mustered little of a response as the Cannoneers scored just twice while in control of the serve for the remainder of the set. Up 19-13, a Martinez kill swung possession back over to the Valiants and was the first of six straight points to win the set. Jacob Fletcher (Rocklin, Calif./Western Sierra Collegiate Academy) earned set point with his second ace of the run.

The Valiants continued to build on their performance as they closed out the night with a match-best .304 attack percentage, logging 10 kills to just three errors. Leading 5-4, Manhattanville rattled off nine straight points, fueled by five aces off the serve of Gandarillas. Pratt was unable to fight back from the 14-4 hole as the Valiants marched their way to match point. A Cannoneer service error closed the book on the night with a 25-13 third set win for the sweep.



Up Next
Manhattanville hits the road for a three-match weekend starting on Friday night at Regis. First serve from Weston, Mass. is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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