HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Manhattanville University women's volleyball team is dancing for a third-straight year as the Valiants have earned a spot in the 2024 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament. Manhattanville will be making the fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history as the team heads to the Huntingdon Regional hosted by Juniata College for an opening-round matchup against the Bullets of Gettysburg College.
  How We Got Here
The Valiants' dominance over the Skyline Conference continued as Manhattanville completed a second-straight perfect season in conference play. Manhattanville captured its third-consecutive conference title and fourth in the last five played seasons over the weekend as the Valiants swept second-seeded Merchant Marine in three sets.

Loren Hernandez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/American Military Academy) added another chapter to her highly decorated career by earning tournament Most Outstanding Player recognition for her efforts in Manhattanville's two postseason games. The Skyline Conference Player of the Year picked up her third double-double in a row with a 17 kill, 11 dig effort in the championship match to lead the Manhattanville attack. It was the other usual suspects that also played crucial roles in the win, with Skyline Libero of the Year Grace Ballagas (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) leading with 15 digs, Ayla Ruiz (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Andrew's Schools) providing nine kills and the Samantha Andriola (Garden City South, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy)-Alana Rivera (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista de Guaynabo) pairing combining for 32 of the team's 37 assists.

The Bullets received at at-large bid to return to the tournament for a second-straight year and 15^th time in program history following their 23-5 season. Gettysburg was eliminated in the semifinal of the Centennial Conference Tournament against eventual conference champs and No. 3 team in the nation Johns Hopkins in three sets. The Bullets disposed of Haverford 3-1 in the opening round matchup of the conference tournament.

Gettysburg's roster features a pair of all-conference selections in the form of First Team selection middle hitter Mary Huegel and right-side Catherine Holtz, who made the All-Centennial Conference Second Team. Huegel led Gettysburg's blocking effort on the year, with the six-foot junior logging 110 blocks, single-handedly outblocking the Valiants' 83 as a team this season. Holtz is also a net-front presence, with the 5-10 senior earning 67 blocks and 175 kills. Thanks in large part to Huegel and Holtz, the Bullets are averaging 1.93 blocks per set, the 46^th-best average in the nation.

Last Time Out
Manhattanville and Gettysburg met in 2023 for the first time in six years, with he Bullets winning a neutral-site matchup at Kean in three sets during a tri-match. Herandez led Manhattanville's effort with nine kills and three digs, while the Bullets hit .322 as a team, led by nine kills from Erin Gonzalez.

Tournament History
The Valiants will be making the team's fourth-ever NCAA appearance on Thursday, carrying a 0-3 lifetime record in the tournament. Manhattanville has not yet won a set in NCAA Tournament play, having previously dropped three-set decisions against Johns Hopkins (2019), Stevens (2022) and Middlebury (2023).

Gettysburg has gone 11-14 across their previous 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, returning to the dance last year for the first time since 2005. The Bullets dropped a three-set decision to Cortland in the opening round of last year's tournament, last winning a tournament match in that 2005 season in an opening-round sweep of Penn State Behrend.
 
Team Leaders
Manhattanville

• Kills Per Set: Hernandez (4.07), Ruiz (3.20), Morales (1.74)
• Assists Per Set: Rivera (7.41), Andriola (3.89), Ballagas (1.11)
• Digs Per Set: Ballagas (5.40), Hernandez (3.04), Rivera (2.88)
• Service Aces: Ballagas (57), Hernandez (52), Jennings (50)
• Blocks: Morales (39), Brown (32), Wildes (28)

Gettysburg

• Kills Per Set: Radolovic (2.89), Gonzalez (2.31), Farrell (2.14)
• Assists Per Set: Erpenbeck (5.58), Feth (4.74), Nasir (4.48)
• Digs Per Set: Shearer (3.72), Gonzalez (2.51), Grall (2.48)
• Service Aces: Erpenbeck (44), Huegel (38), Gonzalez (31)
• Blocks: Huegel (110.0), Holtz (67.0), Galli (56.0)

History

• All-Time Record vs Gettysburg: 0-3
• Streak: Gettysburg W3
• Series Record at Neutral Site: 0-2
• Last Three Matchups (Home team listed second):
  • 9/8/23: Manhattanville 0, Gettysburg 3 (Neutral site at Kean)
  • 10/7/17: Manhattanville 0, Gettysburg 3
  • 9/20/14: Manhattanville 0, Gettysburg 3 (Neutral site at Ursinus)

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