ALBANY, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University men's volleyball team heads home from Albany following a pair of setbacks at the Sage Tri-Match as the Valiants fell short in a pair of non-conference tilts. After dropping a three-setter to the hosting Gators, Manhattanville was bested by King's in the neutral site matchup, dropping to 2-5 on the season.

Match One Recap: Manhattanville 0, Sage 3 (16-25. 23-25, 21-25)
Firing off seven aces and dominating at the net with nine blocks, the Gators dispelled the Valiants in three sets to open up the day.

Emil Medrano (San Cristobal, Republica Dominicana/HS for Environmental Studies) and Kyle Simmons (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial) continued to steer Manhattanville's offense with 23 digs betwixt them. Medrano had 12 putaways to lead the charge while Simmons logged 11 kills. Luis Granados (Pasadena, Calif./St. Francis) added seven kills without committing an error, swinging .778 in the effort.

Mason Moon's (Rockport, Texas/Rockport-Fulton) 19 assists led the Valiant setting performance, while Idris Idris (Kassala, Sudan/JFK High School) provided nine. It was a full team effort defensively with Manhattanville's 22 digs, with Medrano, Matt Diamond (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) and Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East) each finishing with team-highs of four.
Following an opening attack error, the Valiants went in front with a Medrano kill and Gator miscue. Neither team could get into much of a rhythm to start with Manhattanville protecting a 7-5 advantage. The Gators delivered the biggest blow with a 7-1 run, rattling off five straight to go up 12-8. Manhattanville could not mount a response, scoring just once while holding the serve over the remainder of the set as the Gators took the opener 25-16.

Kills from Medrano and Simmons alongside a Gator attack error once again put Manhattanville ahead early to begin set two. The Valiants remained in front up to a 7-5 score before Sage scored three straight. After two separate tied scores, the Gators were able to limit Manhattanville's chances with the ball as they built up a 19-15 lead. The Valiants roared back with four straight points, with Medrano logging back-to-back terminations ahead of a Sage attack error and another Granados kill to pull even at 19-19. The teams matched each other tit-for-tat, but a kill and block from Dylan Fox gave Sage the two-point advantage needed to claim the set, going on to cinch it 25-23.

The Valiants hit a match-high .259 in the third set, but it wasn't enough to outlast Sage. The Gators jumped out to an 8-4 lead to begin the frame as the Valiants were forced to play catch-up. Manhattanville ultimately erased the deficit by pulling even at 11-11 and soon after taking a 13-12 advantage, but the Gators scored five of the next six to go up 17-14. The Valiants had one last run in them, getting back to a single-point deficit at 19-18 after taking three-straight rallies, but the Gators quelled the comeback hopes with three straight points en route to the 25-21 match-winner.

Match Two Recap: Manhattanville 0, King's 3 (19-25, 21-25, 22-25)
Manhattanville hit a season-low .075 to close out the day's action, dropping a three-setter to King's.

Medrano once again served as the team's leading attacker with 13 kills, the only Valiant in double figures. The sophomore ends the week with 92 kills on the season, averaging 3.54 kills per set.

Evan Rapp (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) had 10 digs against the Monarchs, the top defensive performance in the match. Medrano dug out nine balls, with Simmons and Moon both contributing six. Moon also handled primary setting duties again with 19 assists while Idris added 11.
Moon logged Manhattanville's first ace on the day to open the first set before the Monarchs scored the next three points. The Valiants pulled even again at 5-5 but would never lead again after the opening point. King's used a series of two-point spurts to build up a sizeable lead before taking the set 25-19 on a three-point run with three-straight blocks.

It was a game of runs to begin the second set, with the Valiants scoring the first three to open play. The Monarchs rattled off the next four before back-to-back kills by Granados and Simmons. King's reclaimed the lead with four-straight points to go ahead 8-5 and never looked back. Manhattanville made it a one point game at 9-8 but the Monarchs once again chipped their way to set point with two-point bursts. King's delivered the final blow at the net again with Mason Lesher and Logan Aikens combining to reject Simmons' attack and take the set 25-21.

The Valiants had the upper hand on hitting percentage in the third, sporting a .188 mark to Kings' .172. What followed was a set featuring 12 separate tied scores as Manhattanville fought to stay alive and avoid a second-straight sweep. A 4-0 Manhattanville run with a pair of Diamond kills, a Simmons ace and a Monarch attack error put the Valiants up 9-6, but the Monarchs scored four of the next five to once again feature a tied score at 10-10. Fighting to a 16-16 stalemate, the Monarchs broke away with a crucial 5-1 run to take a 21-17 advantage. The Valiants pulled back to within one point after a Simmons kill and Medrano ace brought the score to 23-22, but the comeback fell short as a service error and final Monarch block delivered match point for King's, 25-22.

Up Next
The team heads up to Rochester next weekend to take on a nationally-ranked Hobart squad to begin the Nazareth University weekend quad-match.

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