PURCHASE, N.Y. -- Opening the second season in program history, the Manhattanville University men's volleyball team battled to the end in a pair of contests against SUNY Potsdam and Wilkes University in the Manhattanville Tri-Match on Saturday. While the pair of losses were not the outcomes the Valiants were looking for to begin the new year, a number of strong performances have hopes high as 2025 gets underway.

Match One Recap: Manhattanville 2, SUNY Potsdam 3 (17-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 12-15)

The Valiants were nothing but entertaining in their season debut, going a full five sets against the Bears in the tri-match opener. The teams traded sets to send the match to breaker, where Potsdam outlasted Manhattanville 15-12.

Manhattanville's attack was fueled by a three-headed giant of Kyle Simmons (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial), Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East) and Emil Medrano (San Cristobal, Republica Dominicana/HS for Environmental Studies). In his first outing as a Valiant, Simmons led the squad with 17 kills while also being a menace at the net with four blocks. He added five digs, a pair of assists and two aces. Sophomores Medrano and Gandarillas finished with 13 kills each, with the latter finding success on the service line with a team-high five aces. Gandarillas added eight digs, while Medrano dug out five balls in the contest.

Idris Idris (Kassala, Sudan/JFK High School) opened the new year with a double-double, serving as Manhattanville's primary setter with 35 assists while contributing 10 digs on the defensive side. He finished atop the stat sheet with his dig total, matched by rookie libero Evan Rapp (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) in his collegiate debut. 

It was a cold start of things for Manhattanville as the Valiants hit negative in the opening set, logging six kills to seven errors. The Bears rattled off four straight points to open play, opening up a larger 11-5 run The Valiants brought it back to within three at 13-10, but another four-point run by Potsdam put Manhattanville into too deep of a hole as the Bears went on to take the opener 25-17.

Despite the Bears once again holding a hitting advantage in the second set, Manhattanville shook off the early struggles to pull the match even. The teams fought to 11 different tied scores, with the largest lead on either side never surpassing three points. Manhattanville opened on a 4-1 run before the Bears pulled even at 5-5, the first of seven-straight tied scores as neither team could get into a run. A pair of Potsdam miscues broke the streak with two straight for the Valiants, but a 6-1 Bear run gave the visitors their largest lead of the frame at 19-16. The Valiants responded in short with six straight points of their own, benefiting from an attack error, a pair of blocks, two Matthew Diamond aces, and a kill by Simmons. The Bears fought to one last tied score at 22-22 with a three-point spurt, but Manhattanville closed things out with three of the next four, earning the win on Medrano's putaway, 25-23.

Potsdam was able to reclaim the match lead by taking the third set 25-18, aided by a match-high eight errors by the Valiants. Manhattanville opened on a 4-1 run, but would score just three points over the rest of the set while controlling the serve. Potsdam built up the lead as the Valiants were unable to build sustained rhythm. Manhattanville came back firing with a match-best .345 attacking percentage, logging 16 kills to take the fourth. With five tied scores through the early going, it looked like a repeat of the second frame was in store. The Valiants had a different idea, hanging seven straight points on the board and 12 of the next 13 to take a 20-11 lead. Not going away easily, the Bears closed the gap down to a single point with a 10-2 run to make it 22-21 in favor of the home side. After trading the next two points, Manhattanville held on for the win with a Luis Granados (Pasadena, Calif./St. Francis) kill and Mason Moon (Rockport, Texas/Rockport-Fulton) ace to send the match to a fifth.

The Bears struck first with three straight to begin the deciding set before the Valiants responded with the next five. Potsdam pulled even at 7-7 before a Medrano kill sent the teams switching sides with Manhattanville in front 8-7. Medrano built on the lead with an ace before Potsdam went back in front with three straight points of their own. The Valiants retook the lead on a Gandrillas kill and Bear attack error before Potsdam put a end to the marathon with five of the next six points to close out the first match of the day with a 15-12 win.

Match Two Recap: Manhattanville 1, Wilkes 3 (24-26, 22-25, 26-24, 17-25)
After treating the Kennedy Gymnasium crowd to a second-straight five-setter in the second match of the day, falling to Potsdam in another long one, Wilkes headed home with a win after taking down the Valiants in four.

It was the same attackers leading the charge in Saturday's finale, with Medrano logging 16 kills as Simmons added 11 and Gandarillas finished with eight. Moon accounted for 21 of Manhattanville's 38 assists, with Idris accounting for 15 more. Defensively, Gandarillas notched 12 digs, followed closely by Rapp's 11.

The Colonels looked no worse for wear after just playing five sets as Wilkes was able to match the Valiants stride for stride. There were 20 different tied scored in the opening frame, with the largest lead on either side sitting at just three points. A Colonel attack error led to the final stalemate at 24-24 before a Manhattanville service error and attack error brought an end to the opener with a 26-24 win for Wilkes. 

After Wilkes put three quick points on the board to begin the second set, the Valiants ran off seven of the next eight points to jump in front. The lead remained in the hands of Manhattanville until Wilkes pulled even at 14-14 and ultimately ahead 18-15. The Colonels never relinquished the lead from there, earning the 25-22 win on a service error.

Facing a sweep, Manhattanville battled back from down five to take the third set. The Colonels opened on a 6-1 run and staked claim to a five-point advantage at five separate scores. Down 12-7, a Simmons kills began a 7-2 run for the 'Ville to pull even at 14-all. The Colonels reclaimed the lead at 19-16 ahead of a four-point run by the Valiants made it 20-19 in favor of the home side. Following four more tied scores up to 24-24, a pair of Wilkes miscues gave the Valiants set point with the 26-24 win.

Staving off the loss for at least one more set, the Valiants were running on fumes in the fourth. Manhattanville swung -.034 and were able to keep up with Wilkes through the early going up to a 14-14 score. The Colonels went on a crucial 4-0 run to take the lead for good, ending the affair on a five-point stretch to win the match on a 25-17 set.

Up Next
The Valiants are back in tri-match play next weekend at Bard, taking on Brooklyn College and the hosting Raptors on Jan. 25 starting at 1 p.m.