PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's volleyball team fought but came up short in Wednesday night's action inside Kennedy Gymnasium, dropping a four-setter to Skyline rival Mount Saint Vincent. With the loss (16-25, 25-15, 23-25, 21-25), Manhattanville falls to 9-15 overall and 5-8 in conference play.

Joe Gandarillas' (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East) 11 kills led the attack effort for Manhattanville, followed by nine putaways from Jake Rothluebbers (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union High School) and Pedro Barros Machado's (Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil/Colegio Oficina) seven.

Defensively, Emil Morban Medrano (San Cristobal, Republica Dominicana/HS for Environmental Studies) paced the team with 14 digs as the freshman took over as libero in the second set. Wilton Martinez (Bronx, N.Y./Celia Cruz Bronx HS of Music) dug out nine balls along with six kills and an ace, while Gandraillas added eight digs.

Idris Idris (Kassala, Sudan/JFK High School) and Machado split up the setting duties, combining for 33 of the team's 38 assists. Idris accounted for 18, while Machado contributed 15 in his well-rounded effort.

After dropping the opening set 25-16, the Valiants shook off a match-low -.056 hitting percentage to dominate the second set with a .429 clip, earning 10 kills with just one error. Leading 8-7, the Valiants went on an 8-2 run to jump out to a 16-9 advantage. The Dolphins had little response to the Manhattanville attack effort as Mount Saint Vincent scored just three times while holding the serve. The Valiants closed things down on a 6-1 run to take the set 25-15 and notching things up at a set apiece.

While the Valiants outhit Mount Saint Vincent in the third set, the Dolphins were able to use a 5-2 opening run to never trail the rest of the way. The Dolphins lead would only climb up to four before the Valiants charged back with three straight points to make it an 11-10 set. It was the first of seven different one-point deficits before the Valiants were finally able to push things even at 18-18. UMSV added the next two points before Manhattanville tied it up again at 21-21. The Dolphins scored three straight to get to set point, and while Manhattanville was able to stay alive with a pair of Martinez kills, a service error brought an end to the comeback effort as the Dolphins took the 25-23 set.

Another tightly contested fourth set saw Manhattanville put forth a valiant effort that fell just short. A 3-0 run by the home team had the Valiants leading 5-2 early, preserving the lead all the way through a 12-10 score. There, the Dolphins scored four straight points to kick off a 9-2 run that put the visitors ahead 19-14. With the match on the brink of slipping away, the Valiants went on a 7-1 run to storm back and take a 21-20 lead. A set error brought an end to the run, tying things up and returning serve to the Dolphins' side of the court. It was the opening Mount Saint Vincent needed to bring the match to a close, scoring the final five points to win 25-21.

Up Next
The Valiants head to Brooklyn on Friday evening to take on the Bears of Saint Joseph's at 6 p.m.

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