MAHWAH, N.J. – The Manhattanville University men's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on Saturday, opening Skyline Conference play at Ramapo College. The Valiants dropped a three-setter to the hosting Roadrunners before falling in three sets to New Jersey City to wrap up the day, falling to 2-12 overall.

Match One Recap: Manhattanville 0, Ramapo 3 (21-25, 21-25, 16-25)
Meeting for the first time since last year's Skyline Conference Quarterfinals, the Valiants were unable to pick up its first-ever win over Ramapo on Saturday, falling in three to the Roadrunners.

Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East) and Kyle Simmons (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial) notched seven kills apiece, while Emil Medrano (San Cristobal, Republica Dominicana/HS for Environmental Studies) provided six. Idris Idris (Kassala, Sudan/JFK High School) provided 21 of the Valiants' 23 total assists while adding seven digs, a team-high matched by Medrano and Evan Rapp (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore).

Manhattanville had its best hitting performance of the match in the first set, swinging at a .200 rate. Despite outhitting Ramapo and their .167 rate in the opener, the Roadrunners outlasted the Valiants to take the first frame. After 11 separate tied scores, Ramapo went on a 4-0 run to take a 14-11 lead they never surrendered. The Roadrunners used another four-point spurt later to go up 23-16 and were able to withstand Manhattanville's 4-0 response, notching two of the final three points to win 25-21.

The Valiants came out firing in set two with a 4-1 opening run, keeping the lead up to a 12-8 score. The Roadrunners pulled even for the first time since the 1-1 score on a four-point run, the first of six more tied scores leading up to a 19-19 stalemate. The Roadrunners broke the tie with a crucial string of four of the next five to reach the brink of set point. Jake Rothluebbers (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union High School) logged a kill to keep the Valiants alive, but Ramapo scored the next two to take the set once again with a 25-21 decision.

After being able to match the Roadrunners' stride through the first two sets, the Valiants went cold, hitting negative in the third with three kills to seven errors. Ramapo scored four of the first five before pulling away with a 5-0 run to go up 9-3. Manhattanville was unable to get back closer than four as the home side completed the sweep with the 25-16 win.

Match Two Recap: Manhattanville 0, New Jersey City 3 (18-25, 23-25, 17-25)
The Valiants fared better offensively in their second match of the day, hitting .216 overall, but the Gothic Knights sported a .341 attack percentage to hand Manhattanville a second loss to close out the week.

Medrano led the attack against NJCU with ten kills, followed by seven from Gandarillas and six by Simmons. Mason Moon (Rockport, Texas/Rockport-Fulton) took over primary setting duties with 29 in the match, while Rapp had 11 digs to lead the Valiants defensively.

The Gothic Knights swung .423 in the opening set, quickly building up a 5-2 lead. Manhattanville scored just three times while in control of the serve and could not piece together a run of more than two points as NJCU pulled away for the 25-18 opener win.

Manhattanville responded by hitting a match-high .333, logging 13 kills to just two errors. Jersey City continued its strong attack display with 16 kills to four errors and totaling a .300 percentage. With both attacks clicking, the teams fought to 17 different tied scores. The largest lead on either side sat at just two points as the set came down to the wire. Evened up at 22-22, Marcus Pardasie delivered a pair of huge kills to put NJCU on match point. Medrano prolonged the set with a kill of his own, but Pardasie struck again with the set-winner, 25-23.

The Valiants could not replicate the attack success into the third, dropping to a .138 attack percentage as the Gothic Knights continued to fire away. A 4-1 opening run by NJCU gave the Gothic Knights a win they never gave up, building up to an eight-point lead at 19-11. Manhattanville chipped away with three-straight points, but that would prove to be the Valiants' final run of the day as Jersey City closed out the sweep with the 25-17 score.

Up Next
The Valiants look to break back into the win column on Wednesday night at Sarah Lawrence.

VALIANTS on SOCIAL MEDIA For the latest on Manhattanville Athletics, follow the Valiants via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads and YouTube. #WeAreValiant #GoValiants