PURCHASE, N.Y. – A champion will be crowned in Kennedy Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon as the Skyline Conference Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament comes to a head. It will be the top-seeded Manhattanville Valiants, looking to win a fourth-straight conference title, going toe-to-toe with No. 3 Saint Joseph's Long Island, aiming for its first conference title since 2013.
   
How We Got Here
The Valiants are making a sixth-straight appearance in the conference finals after a 3-0 sweep of No. 5 Sarah Lawrence in Thursday's semis match. The usual suspects shined, with Caylin Caballero (Eastvale, Calif./Walnut) and Loren Hernandez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/American Military Academy) leading the attack with 30 combined kills, Alana Rivera Torres (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista de Guaynabo) and Samantha Andriola (Garden City South, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) splitting setting duties for 44 total assists, and Kayla Jennings (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) diving all over the floor for 22 digs. After a tightly-contested opening set, the Valiants were able to gain some distance in the second before a 10-point win in the third as the defending champs punched their ticket back to the title bout.

On the opposite side of the bracket, it was a battle in Kings Point between the Golden Eagles and No. 2 Merchant Marine. The match needed five sets to determine a winner, as Saint Joseph's took sets one and three while the Mariners won two and four. When the dust settled, it was the Golden Eagles flying high with a 15-11 win in the deciding frame. SJLI got 15 kills from Luciana D'Ambrosio who posted a double-double with her 22 digs, outdone only by Sarah Montefusco's 26. The offense was piloted through Sarah Meininger who provided 36 of the team's 37 assists.

Last Time Out
The teams faced off in Kennedy on Oct. 8, a three-set sweep (25-18, 25-17, 27-25) for the Valiants that began the team's current 12-match winning streak. Hernandez and Caballero each provided 13 kills for the Valiants, both tallying double-doubles with 15 and 12 digs, respectively. Rivera Torres ran the attack with 37 assists, while Jennings dug out 12 balls. Saint Joseph's was led with six kills by D'Ambrosio, 17 assists via Lauren Goss, and Goss and Olivia Baumann's nine digs.

Postseason History
Saturday is a rematch of the 2023 Skyline Conference Finals, a 3-0 Manhattanville win in Kennedy that saw the Valiants capture its second-straight title. While both teams have undergone transformation over the last two years, Hernandez was just as big a part of that contest as she has been this year, leading the way with a 13 kill, 10 dig double-double. Jennings and Emily Brown (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Damien Memorial) remain as the only other two Valiants that took the floor in the game on this year's roster.

Team Leaders
Manhattanville

• Kills Per Set: Hernandez (3.83), Caballero (3.28), Fallon (1.43)
• Assists Per Set: Rivera Torres (6.00), Andriola (3.79), Jennings (0.94)
• Digs Per Set: Jennings (5.61), Hernandez (3.12), Rivera Torres (2.06), Caballero (2.06)
• Service Aces: Jennings (53), Rivera Torres (41), Hernandez (38)
• Blocks: Fallon (35), Brown (27), Caballero (25)

Saint Joseph's Long Island

• Kills Per Set: Vanderhoof (2.85), D'Ambrosio (2.65), Tsororos (2.11)
• Assists Per Set: Goss (8.77), Meininger (7.25), Montefusco (0.63)
• Digs Per Set: Montefusco (4.51), Goss (2.69), D'Ambrosio (2.51)
• Service Aces: Goss (39), Tsororos (38), D'Ambrosio (32)
• Blocks: Hansen (39), Julaino (24), Goss (23), Vanderhoof (23)

History

• All-Time Record vs SJLI: 16-8
• Streak: W11
• Series Record at Manhattanville: 8-1
• Last Five Matchups (Home team listed second):
  • 10/8/25: SJLI 0, Manhattanville 3
  • 11/5/24: Manhattanville 3, SJLI 0
  • 11/11/23: SJLI 0, Manhattanville 3 (Skyline Finals)
  • 10/12/23: SJLI 0, Manhattanville 3
  • 10/19/22: Manhattanville 3, SJLI 1

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