BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – Opening up the new week, the Manhattanville College men's volleyball team earned a three-set road sweep at Sarah Lawrence on Monday night. With the win, the Valiants improve to 8-10 overall and climb back to .500 in Skyline Conference play at 4-4.

For the third time in the last four matches, Emil Morban Medrano (San Cristobal, Republica Dominicana/HS for Environmental Studies) collected a double-double in a leading effort. The rookie's 15 kills led the attack while his 10 digs finished tied for the second-most on the team in the win. Wilton Martinez (Bronx, N.Y./Celia Cruz Bronx HS of Music) finished just behind in the offensive effort with 14 kills.

Nash Torres' (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Colegio Rosa-Bell) 13 digs paced Manhattanville's defensive play, while Jake Rothluebbers (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union High School) also contributed 10 digs. Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East) racked up 34 assists, his second match eclipsing 30 this season.

The Valiants found success at the service line with 17 aces, the second-highest total by the Valiants in a match this year. All six players that served in the match recorded an ace, led by five by Martinez. Medrano, Gandarillas and Rothluebbers each notched three aces.

The Valiants' hitting percentage improved across each of the three sets, while the Gryphons conversely had their best performance in the opening frame before dropping over the following two. This resulted in the tightest set of the match in the opener, a 25-21 Valiant win. A Rothluebbers kill opened up the match before Sarah Lawrence scored the next four points to take their first lead. The Valiants pulled within a point on three instances en route to trailing 7-6. The Gryphons went on a 6-0 run, looking to pull away with a 13-6 lead. However, the Valiants responded with six straight points of their own to once again make it a one point deficit. Manhattanville evened things up at 14-14 on a Jacob Fletcher (Rocklin, Calif./Western Sierra Collegiate Academy) service ace, the first of four tied scores as the teams fought to a 17-17 mark. Manhattanville took the lead once more on a Martinez kill, the first of a 4-0 run that put the Vals up 21-17. It would be Sarah Lawrence this time clawing back to within a single point, but Manhattanville held on, scoring four of the final five points to take the opening set.

While the Gryphons sported a .265 hitting percentage in the first set, Sarah Lawrence hit below .100 for the remainder of play. The hosts logged seven kills to four errors in the second, compared to the 15 putaways by Manhattanville. The Valiants jumped out to a 5-1 lead and remained in front through the 10-6 score. Sarah Lawrence laid claim to their first lead of the set five a five-point run, but a response by the Valiants in the form of a 6-1 stretch proved to be just enough to claim the set. The Valiants remained in front for the rest of the frame from the 16-12 lead, holding firm while the Gryphons pulled back to a one-point deficit on three occasions. Nursing a 19-18 lead, the Valiants closed out the set with a 6-2 run to win 25-20.

The Gryphons logged just four kills in the final set as the Valiants seized momentum. Leading 6-5 through the early going, a 6-0 Manhattanville scoring streak put Manhattanville comfortably ahead, cursing to the 25-16 win with a Gandarillas match-winning ace.

Up Next
Tri-match action returns to Kennedy Gymnasium on Saturday when the Valiants host Mount Saint Vincent and Ramapo starting at 11 a.m.

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