BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Competing away from tri-match play for the first time on the season, the Manhattanville University men's volleyball team swept Pratt Institute on Wednesday night. The Valiants open up a three-match week in the win column (25-12, 25-10, 25-11), improving to 2-3 overall with Wednesday's victory.

Two days shy of the one-year anniversary of earning the first win in program history against these Cannoneers, the Valiants put up their most dominant performance of the young season. Manhattanville sported a season-best .320 hitting percentage in the win, posting 32 kills to just eight errors. Emil Medrano (San Cristobal, Republica Dominicana/HS for Environmental Studies) led the attack effort with 11 kills as the sophomore has reached double-figures offensively in all five matches to open the year. Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East) logged nine kills while Luis Granados (Pasadena, Calif./St. Francis) had six.

Idris Idris (Kassala, Sudan/JFK High School) handled a majority of setting duties with 24 of the Valiants' 31 assists. The graduate now has surpassed 20 helpers in three matches, with Wednesday's effort his second-highest total of the season behind his 35 from the season-opener against SUNY Potsdam.

Gandarillas had 10 digs for Manhattanville defensively, followed by Skyline Libero of the Week Evan Rapp's (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) nine and Idris' seven.

The Valiants seized momentum early, scoring seven-straight after splitting the first two points to jump out to an 8-1 lead. Gandarillas had a pair of kills in the run while Medrano and Kyle Simmons (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial) had one each, aided by a setting error and a pair of Cannoneer attack errors. Pratt scored just once while controlling the serve as the Valiants continued to build up a lead to 18-6. The Cannoneers found their most consistent success of the early going with a four-point run, but it only slowed the Valiants temporarily as Manhattanville notched seven of the next nine, including the final four points in a row, to take the opening set 25-12.

An opening 7-1 burst put Manhattanville in front to start the second set, with the Valiants never looking back. Pratt scored just twice while holding the serve and could not generate a run longer than two points. Conversely, the Valiants went on three separate four-point runs to take the set, the latest bringing the Vals to set point up 24-9. A Manhattanville service error gave the Cannoneers one last breath, but Pratt could not capitalize as the Valiants took the set 25-10 following an attack error the following rally.

Manhattanville continued to ride high with an 8-0 run to begin the third set. Pratt was unable to respond to the big early blow which saw three kills from Medrano, one putaway each from Granados and Jake Rothluebbers (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union High School) and three Pratt miscues. With the comfortable lead to work with, the Valiants made a march on match point, ultimately taking the finale 25-11 on a 4-0 run.

Up Next
The Valiants head upstate for the weekend to play a pair up in Albany. Manhattanville takes on Sage and King's in tri-match play starting at noon on Saturday.

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