PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University women's volleyball team made their long-awaited home debut on Saturday, hosting a tri-match against Misericordia and Ramapo. After falling in three sets to Cougars (18-25, 22-25, 20-25) to begin the morning, the Valiants secured their first win on the courts of Kennedy Gymnasium with a straight-set sweep of Ramapo (25-18, 25-10, 25-7) to finish the day 6-7 overall.
Match One Recap: Manhattanville 0, Misericordia 3 (18-25, 22-25, 20-25)
It was not an ideal start to the home opener for the Valiants as Misericordia arrived in Purchase riding an eight-match winning streak. The red-hot Cougars continued the success in the morning draw, defeating the Valiants in three sets.
The Valiants hit a respectable .227 in the match, their third-best attack percentage of the season at that point, but were simply unable to keep up with the Cougars' .408 clip.
Loren Hernandez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/American Military Academy) continued to build upon her team lead in kills with a match-high nine putaways.
Ayla Ruiz (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Andrew's Schools) added six, while
Sofia Morales (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) and
Meghan Wildes (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) finished with five and four, respectively.
Grace Ballagas' (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) seven digs paced the team's defensive effort, followed closely behind by five digs each from Hernandez and
Samantha Andriola (Garden City South, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy). Andriola continued to work alongside
Alana Rivera (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista de Guaynabo) to handle setting duties, logging 12 and nine assists. Andriola also had the Valiants' top performance at the service line with four aces, with Ballagas adding three and Ruiz and Rivera each recording a pair.
A setting error and a pair of Jenna Schuda aces put the Cougars up 3-0 to begin the opening set. The Valiants responded by logging five of the next six points to take their first lead of the day. A Valiant service error tied the set up and got the Cougars' attack clicking with a 9-1 run to go up 13-6. Misericordia's lead peaked at a 10-point advantage at 23-13. The Valiants delivered one last blow with five of the next six to bring it back within six, but Meghan Peters put the set to bed with a kill, winning 25-18.
After hitting .280 in the first set, the Cougars improved as the day went on, recording 15 kills to just three errors for a .429 clip in the second. The Valiants, too, got better on the attack throughout the match, but Misericordia's ruthless hitting was simply unstoppable. The Valiants opened the second set on a 5-0 run, holding the lead until the Cougars evened it up at 7-7. That was the first of 11 different tied scores as both teams struggled to gain distance; Manhattanville held the largest lead of the span with a two-point advantage. Tied 19-19, the Cougars found the break they searched for all set with a 6-3 run, winning the frame on back-to-back kills from Rachel LoFaso and Cassandra Genduso to take it 25-22.
The Cougars completed the sweep on the back of a .522 attack percentage in the third set, logging 13 kills to just one error. Tied 5-5, the Cougars notched back-to-back points via kills by Keira McCaffrey and Schuda. A two-point lead didn't seem like much of note at time, but Misericordia would never surrender the advantage over the remainder of the match. The Valiants attempted to get over the hump to close the gap but could not capture the elusive tying point. Up 14-12, the Cougars delivered the final big blow with a five-point stretch to go up by seven. The Valiants were able to get back within three, but the scoreboard was not on their side as the Cougars inched closer to match point, earning the win with Genduso's final kill, 25-20.
Match Two Recap: Manhattanville 3, Ramapo 0 (25-18, 25-10, 25-7)
After the Cougars handed Ramapo a three-set loss of their own in the second match of the day, Manhattanville and Ramapo squared off for the second time in as many weeks to see which squad could salvage the tri-match with a split. Following their four-set win over the Roadrunners in Mahwah last Tuesday, the Valiants defended their home court with a three-set sweep to climb back to within a game of .500 on the year.
Morales shined as one of the team's leading attackers, hitting .643 with nine kills, a total only matched by Hernandez. Ruiz added seven more putways and did even more damage on the serve with nine aces.
Rivera rotated in as the primary setter, accounting for 31 of the team's 33 assists with six digs, a kill and three aces. The other two helpers belong to Ballagas, who led the Valiants defensively with 13 digs. Hernandez added nine digs of her own in another strong two-way performance.
Two quick points from a Hernandez kill and a Ramapo set error got the Valiants running early, spotting  the home team a lead they held from end to end. Manhattanville methodically built up the lead up to a nine-point advantage, leading 20-11 and 22-13. While the Roadrunners inched closer with five of the ensuing eight points, but it was too little, too late as Wildes secured set point with a kill from Rivera.
The Valiants followed up with a .500 attack effort in the second set, erupting out to a 6-1 lead. Ramapo had no answer to hard hit, once again finding themselves in a nine-point hole at 14-5. The Roadrunners recorded the next three points before the Valiants went on an 11-2 run to take the second set handedly, 25-10.
While unable to match their eye-popping hitting mark from the set prior, the Valiants got the job done at the service line to complete the sweep. The Valiants logged 12 aces in the third set as the Roadrunners struggled on reception attempts. With close to half of the rallies being done before even getting started, the Valiants scored 11 straight points to earn the win, 25-7. Six of the run's points came courtesy of aces by Ruiz.
Up Next
The Valiants are back at home on Tuesday night, hosting Kean at 7 p.m.
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