PURCHASE, N.Y. – Playing their first home tri-match in program history, the Manhattanville College men's volleyball team split their pair of Skyline Conference contests on Saturday. After taking the opener against Saint Joseph's University Brooklyn 3-1, the Valiants were bested by New Jersey City University in three sets to conclude the day's festivities. The split decision has the Valiants ending the week 7-10 overall and 3-4 in conference play.
Match One Recap: Manhattanville 3, Saint Joseph's Brooklyn 1 (25-15, 25-12, 23-25, 25-13)
The Valiants took the opener of Saturday's festivities over Saint Joseph's Brooklyn, taking the first two sets before winning the match in the fourth.
A 13 dig, 12 kill double-double by
Emil Morban Medrano (San Cristobal, Republica Dominicana/HS for Environmental Studies) helped set the tone. The rookie's fourth double-double of the season trailed only
Wilton Martinez's (Bronx, N.Y./Celia Cruz Bronx HS of Music) 16 kills and
Jake Rothluebbers' (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union High School) 14 digs.
Nash Torres (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Colegio Rosa-Bell) also supplied 13 digs, while Rothluebbers added six kills.
Once again taking the role of setter,
Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East) notched 37 of the team's 40 assists while adding four aces, seven digs and three blocks.
After four early ties, the Bears found themselves up 7-5. The Valiants responded to the deficit by rattling off nine straight points with Rothluebbers controlling the serve, earning three aces as part of the run. Saint Joseph's had no response to suddenly being down 14-7, as the closest they would get was back within five down 19-14. The Valiants took the set with six of the next seven points to win 25-15.
Manhattanville quickly jumped out to a 5-1 advantage to begin the second set before the Bears closed the gap at a 6-5 deficit. With Saint Joseph's climbing back, the Valiants scored four straight to regain some separation to go up 10-5. The lead preserved for the remainder of the frame, with Manhattanville using a 12-3 run to climb up to a 23-10 lead. The Bears scored the next two but a
Luis Granados (Pasadena, Calif./St. Francis) kill and block from Martinez and
Jacob Fletcher (Rocklin, Calif./Western Sierra Collegiate Academy) put the Valiants up 2-0 with a 25-12 second set victory.
With their backs to the wall, the Bears had their best hitting set coupled with the Valiants' worst to force a forth set, winning the third 25-23. Saint Joseph's would be unable to replicate the success for what would be the final frame as the team hit negative compared to the Valiants' .471 mark. The Bears took the opening point off a service error before the Valiants scored six straight as part of an 11-2 run. Another five point swing soon after had the Valiants up 18-6. The hole proved far too deep for the Bears to climb out of as the Valiants took the match with the 25-13 fourth set.
Match Two Recap: Manhattanville 0, NJCU 3 (13-25, 22-25, 12-25)
With both teams besting Saint Joseph's Brooklyn, the Gothic Knights and Valiants closed out the day's action with NJCU winning in three sets.
Martinez, Medrano and Rothluebbers once again led the attack effort, accounting for 20 of the team's 22 kills. Martinez finished the match with eight, while Medrano and Rothluebbers tallied seven and five putaways, respectively. Medrano also added 12 digs to lead the defensive side, followed by six via Gandarilas and five by Rothluebbers. Gandarillas single-handedly racked up all 20 of the team's assists while adding four more aces.
The Gothic Knights' opening 4-1 run put the visitors up with a led they never surrendered. Manhattanville struggled to get their footing, logging seven kills to five aces. Manhattanville was able to hang around through the first half of the set, trailing 7-11, but a five-point streak by NJCU was the final blow to the Valiants' hopes in the set. Manhattanville got back within six before the Gothic Knights went on a 7-1 run to go up 23-11, ultimately taking the set by a final of 25-13.
Manhattanville played arguably their best ball of the day in the second set as they took the Gothic Knights to the limit. The set saw seven different tied scores as the Valiants were able to respond to seemingly every run NJCU would piece together. The Gothic Knights jumped out to a 5-3 lead before the home squad evened things up at 7-7. New Jersey City responded in short with the next three points and protected the lead up to 16-12. There, an attack error opened up a four-point string for Manhattanville that tied things up once again at 16-all. NJCU retook the lead with the next point but a service error, attack error and Martinez ace put the Valiants in front 19-17. A great finish was in store as the teams battled to the finish line with Manhattanville going up 21-19. NJCU scored the next three to go up before a service error put the ball back on Manhattanville's side, locked up at 22-22. A Brandon DaSivla kill was the final momentum swing the Gothic Knights needed as NJCU scored the final three points to win the second 25-22.
Riding the wave of the second set win, NJCU hit a match-best .529 to run away with the third to complete the sweep. The Gothic Knights ran out to a 10-2 advantage and never looked back, holding the Valiants to just three points while controlling the serve. Manhattanville was unable to replicate their offensive gain from the set prior as the team committed six errors to five kills to end the day with the Gothic Knights winning 25-12.
Up Next
The Valiants head to Bronxville on Monday night for a 7 p.m. Skyline match at Sarah Lawrence.
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