ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University men's volleyball team had its first taste of victory in 2025 on Saturday, splitting its matches at the Bard College Tri-Match. The Valiants picked up the first win of the season against Brooklyn before falling to the host Raptors to close out the day. Manhattanville closes out the week 1-3 overall following the paid of matches.
Match One Recap: Manhattanville 3, Brooklyn 1 (25-16, 17-25, 25-20, 25-15)
The Valiants secured the first win of the season to open their action on the day, taking down Brooklyn in four sets in the neutral-site matchup.
As demonstrated in last weekend's season openers, the Valiant attack was piloted by
Emil Medrano (San Cristobal, Republica Dominicana/HS for Environmental Studies),
Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East) and
Kyle Simmons (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial). The trio accounted for 36 of Manhattanville's 47 total kills in the win, led by sophomore Medrano's 13. Medrano would also lead the Valiants with seven digs while adding a pair of aces.
Gandarillas notched 12 putaways while Simmons logged 11 as the pair both notched four digs. Their dig totals were matched by both
Idris Idris (Kassala, Sudan/JFK High School) and
Mason Moon (Rockport, Texas/Rockport-Fulton), the pair of Valiant setters that both saw plenty of action in the opener. Idris logged 22 assists, followed by 15 from Moon.
Evan Rapp (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) dug out six balls while
Matt Diamond (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) collected five.
It was all Valiants early as Manhattanville took a 10-2 advantage to get the day started. Brooklyn responded with seven of the next eight points to cut the Valiant advantage down to just two points, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would manage to get. The Valiants regained some separation off a Brooklyn attack error and Gandarillas kills before Brooklyn responded with two straight kills of their own. Manhattanville got back into their rhythm with three straight points and five of the next six before eventually claiming the frame with four-unanswered, winning 25-16 off a Simmons putaway.
The Bulldogs roared back in the second to even things up at a set apiece, swinging .450 in the frame while the Valiants went cold, hitting -.033, as Brooklyn won 25-17. Manhattanville responded with some of their best play of the early season, logging 27 kills to just five errors over the final two sets to break into the win column. The Vals swung .467 in the third, holding off the Bulldogs 25-20. Playing from behind 4-1 to open, Manhattanville tied the score six times before finally snatching the lead on a 3-0 run, 15-13. The Valiants never looked back, winning the point on a three-rally stretch with a pair of Gandarillas kills and one by Simmons.
Manhattanville kept on firing with a .421 mark in the fourth as the Bulldogs went negative, committing 10 errors to seven kills. Brooklyn mustered only two multi-point runs in the set, with the largest capping at three points. With the Valiants shutting down Brooklyn's attacks, Manhattanville marched towards match point, logging the victory 25-15 on a kill by Diamond.
Match Two Recap: Manhattanville 1, Bard 3 (18-25, 15-25, 25-23, 21-25)
The Valiants fell short of completing a Saturday sweep as Manhattanville was dispelled of by the hosting Raptors to close out the day's action.
Medrano once again led the attack effort, but was the lone Valiant to reach double-figures with his 14 kills. Simmons added eight putaways, while
Luis Granados' (Pasadena, Calif./St. Francis) seven kills marked a new career-high.
Diamond had 10 digs to pace the Valiants defensively, with Medrano adding seven and Simmons and Idris supplying six. Idris and Moon once again split setting duties with 37 of the Valiants' 41 assists, with Moon notching 19 and 18 for Idris.
The Raptors outhit the Valiants .375-.231 in the opening set, pulling away at the tailend to take the first frame. A Bard kill and ace point the home team up to begin play and would remain in front until the Valiants pulled even at 7-7. Following two more tied scores, Manhattanville claimed their first lead on a 4-0 run, going up 12-9. It was short-lived as Bard rattled off the next four to go back in front. Trading blows, the Valiants took a 15-14 lead off a Simmons kill. Bard rattled off four straight points to take the lead for good, holding Manhattanville to three final points to win 25-18.
Bard played nearly perfect in the second set, committing just one error to make short work of the frame. Tied 2-2, the Raptors took the lead following three Valiant attack errors and an ace off the serve of Ansel Waisler. Bard never looked back, staving off the Valiants' effort to come back with a 10-2 run to go up two sets to none with a 25-15 win.
Manhattanville avoided the sweep with their best effort of the contest, swinging .353 with 15 kills to three errors to claim the third. Three straight kills from Jake Rothluebber, Medrano and Granados had the Valiants off to a hot start, but the Raptors used a 4-0 run soon after to take a 6-4 lead. The Valiants played catchup before tying things up at 11-11 and later scoring four straight to go up 16-13. The lead remained in possession of the visitors until Bard capped off a four-point spurt that tied the score at 21-21. After trading a point apiece, a Rothluebbers kill and Medrano ace put Manhattanville on set point. Bard survived for the moment with a Waisler kill, but Simmons delivered the final blow for the Valiants with the 25-23 winner.
Bard put two quick points up to begin the fourth set before the Valiants took a 7-5 lead. The Raptors then scored six of the next seven to seize the advantage for good. Manhattanville was able to get back to within one point twice, the latest off a Medrano kill that cut the Raptors lead down to 19-18, but Bard scored three straight to get some distance and three of the ensuing six to win the match as Waisler struck with match point, 25-21.
Up Next
The Valiants will get their first taste of single-match play on Wednesday, heading to Brooklyn to take on Pratt Institute at 7 p.m.
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