WAYNE, N.J. – Grace Ballagas (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School) became Manhattanville's all-time digs leader, but the senior libero's defensive performance was not enough for the Valiant women's volleyball team to defeat William Paterson on Thursday night. The Valiants fell to the Pioneers in four sets (17-25, 13-25, 25-17, 14-25), dropping to 2-2 overall to start a stretch of four matches in three days.
Ballagas needed two digs to officially surpass Alyssa Casino '14 for the program record in digs, bringing her career total to 1,374. The libero finished the match with a team-high 19 digs to bring the new benchmark to 1,391 and counting.
While it was a night to remember for Ballagas, the Valiants as a whole struggled as the team's five-match winning streak against the Pioneers dating back to 2015 came to a close. Manhattanville hit just .090 in the match, the team's lowest mark in the young season.
Skyline Conference Player of the Week
Loren Hernandez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/American Military Academy) picked up where she left off with her second-consecutive double-double, logging a team-high 15 kills alongside 11 digs.
Ayla Ruiz (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Andrew's Schools) and
Emily Brown (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Damien Memorial) rounded out Manhattanville's offensive leaders with a pair of six kill efforts.
Samantha Andriola (Garden City South, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) and
Alana Rivera (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista de Guaynabo) split setter duties, accounting for 34 of the team's 26 assists. Andriola moved all over the floor, finishing with 20 assists, three kills, six digs, a pair of assisted blocks and two aces across all four sets. Rivera, meanwhile, put up 14 helpers in her two frames of action.
The Pioneers opened the night on a 6-1 run to secure an opening-set lead they never relinquished. The Valiants were able to narrow the gap to two on a four point run that saw three William Paterson attack errors to move the score to 10-8, but Manhattanville never got back closer than a three point hole after the Pioneers scored the next three en route to a 25-17 opening set victory for the home side.
Manhattanville kept pace with William Paterson through the start of the second set, responding to the Pioneers' opening 6-2 run by scoring four of the ensuing five points. The Valiants stayed in striking distance as the Pioneers extended their lead to 10-7, but the home team firmly pulled away through use of a four point string to double up the Vals at 14-7. The Pioneers later used a six-point rally to get to set point, and while a pair of kills by Hernandez kept the set alive momentarily, a Valiant attack error concluded the set with William Paterson securing a 25-13 win to take the first two sets.
The Valiants avoided the sweep on the back of their best attacking effort of the night, swinging .250 in the third set. Manhattanville erupted for the first six points courtesy of a pair of Hernandez kills, one from
Meghan Wildes (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa), a Ballagas ace and a pair of William Paterson attack errors. The Valiant lead peaked at eight before the Pioneers came marching back, using an 8-1 run to even the score up at 12-12. After their lead disappeared, Manhattanville wasted little time making a new one with five unanswered points as part of an extended 12-3 run to get to set point. The Pioneers held on for three more rallies before Hernandez delivered the final blow for Manhattanville's 25-17 win.
Manhattanville was unable to carry over the attacking success into the fourth, hitting -.063 in what would be the final set. Tied 2-2, William Paterson firmly seized momentum with 11 unanswered points. The hole was too deep for the Valiants to fight out of, falling to a final score of 25-14.
Up Next
The Valiants return to the Garden State tomorrow, traveling to Hoboken to take on Stevens at 6 p.m.
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