HOBOKEN, N.J. – The Manhattanville University women's volleyball team wrapped up the first of two straight weeks in New Jersey with a pair of neutral-site contests at Stevens. The Valiants fell in straight sets in both matches, falling to Bowdoin to begin the day before dropping a three-setter to third-ranked NYU.

Match One Recap: Manhattanville 0, Bowdoin 3 (18-25, 17-25, 26-28)
The Valiants began a second straight day in Hoboken with the team's second-ever meeting against Bowdoin. While Manhattanville was able to force a five-setter in the first clash back in 2021, the Bears were able to log a straight set sweep in Saturday's battle to improve to 2-0 all-time against the Valiants.

As has been the case throughout the start of the season, the Valiants' attack effort was piloted by Ayla Ruiz (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Andrew's Schools) and Loren Hernandez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/American Military Academy). The outside hitter duo combined for 29 of the team's 37 total kills, with Ruiz' 15 marking her fourth game this year in double-digits while being tied for the most in the match across both squads. Samantha Andriola (Garden City South, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) and Meghan Wildes (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) each had three putaways while Emily Brown (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Damien Memorial) added two.

Three Valiants reached double figures defensively in digs, led by 17 from Grace Ballagas (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Robinson School). Hernandez notched her third double-double of the season with 10 digs to compliment her attacking effort, while Kayla Jennings (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) also provided 10 digs, her first double-figure performance of her sophomore season.

Alana Rivera (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista de Guaynabo) led Manhattanville with 17 assists, with Andriola adding 14. Ballagas also got involved in the setting effort with four assists.

Bowdoin limited their mistakes across the opening two sets, hitting better than .300 in each of the first frames. The effective attack effort led to the Bears rattling off eight unanswered points to build up a commanding 12-3 lead to begin the day.

Manhattanville was unable to go on a run of their own as the Bears snuffed out a number of two- and three-point rallies to stymy potential momentum. Mina Mittler wrapped up the set for the Bears at 25-18 with a kill from Skye LaMendola.
The Bears continued to put balls away, hitting .405 in the second set. It was another 8-0 run that put Bowdoin in the driver's seat in the new frame, putting the Bears ahead 11-3. The Valiants were unable to bridge the gap closer than a five point deficit as Bowdoin marched to a 25-17 second set win.

After firing on all cylinders to begin the match, the Bears showed some imperfection as their attack percentage dropped to .186. The Valiants conversely logged a match-high 15 kills in the third to play their best volleyball of the day. Manhattanville enjoyed its first multi-point lead of the day with a 6-3 open to the set. Bowdoin tied things up at 6-6 before a service error and Ruiz kill slid the advantage back into the Valiants' hands. Bowdoin ran off six straight points and continued to lead up to a 13-9 advantage before Manhattanville had their longest sustained run of the day. Three straight Hernandez kills kicked off a string of six unanswered points that was part of a larger 10-2 run to put the Vals ahead 20-16. As Manhattanville continued to build towards set point, Bowdoin chipped away. With the Valiants leading 23-21, the Bears scored four straight to reach match point. Crucial kills by Hernandez and Ruiz put Manhattanville in front once again and extended the set into breaker. Ruiz once again put the Valiants on the brink of extending the match with a kill to go up 26-25, but the Bears earned the next three points to survive the marathon and win the contest with a 28-26 third set.

Match Two Recap: Manhattanville 0, No. 3 NYU 3 (16-25, 13-25, 19-25)
The third-ranked team in the nation was as advertised in the backend of Saturday's action as No. 3 NYU improved to 6-0 on the year as the Valiants dropped a fifth straight match.

Hernandez led the offense in the second match, accounting for 10 of Manhattanville's 25 kills. Ruiz and Andriola finished with five and four kills, respectively, with Brown, Sofia Morales (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) and Aurea Obradors (Barcelona, Spain/Benjamin Franklin International School) each contributing two.

Ballagas' 11 digs paced the Valiants' defensive play, with Andriola logging seven digs and Hernandez and Rivera both finishing with six. It was Rivera and Andriola once again splitting setter responsibilities with 14 and 10 assists apiece.

NYU hit .333 as a team, the highest attack percentage recorded against the Valiants this season.

The Violets scored six straight points to open up the match and never looked back. The Valiants only got as close as five for the duration of the set, with NYU leading by as many as 12 with a 22-10 lead. Manhattanville outscored NYU 6-3 at the tailend of the frame but it was far too late to stage a comeback as Chloe Lemons put the Violets up 1-0 with a kill to win 25-16.

Manhattanville kept up with the Violets to start the second, pulling to a 5-5 tie. NYU, however, began to build separation, first with a 3-0 run before rattling off five straight to jump out to a 13-6 advantage. Manhattanville was limited to just one point while controlling the serve for the remainder to the set as the Violets quickly claimed a 25-13 win to go up two sets to none.

The Valiants had their best attacking effort of the match in the third set with nine kills to just three assists. Still, it was not enough to slow down the Violets. Manhattanville built up a 6-2 lead following the intermission and the teams traded the lead back and forth four more times leading to a 13-11 advantage for Manhattanville. NYU delivered the final blow with six unanswered points to go up 17-13 to firmly retake the lead, ultimately closing out the match with a 25-19 win in the third.

Up Next
The Valiants hope New Jersey will hold better fortunes for them next week as the team heads to Ramapo on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

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