PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University men's volleyball team collected its fifth-straight win on Monday night, defeating Yeshiva University in three straight sets. With the win (25-16, 25-8, 25-21), the Valiants improve to 8-13 on the year, moving to 6-3 against the Skyline Conference.
Matt Diamond (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) logged a season-high 10 kills to pilot the Manhattanville attack.
Justin Lau (Queens, N.Y./Benjamin N. Cardozo) also enjoyed a new personal benchmark as his eight kills were the freshman's career high.
Luis Granados (Pasadena, Calif./St. Francis) and
Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East) each supplied seven putaways.
Idris Idris (Kassala, Sudan/JFK High School) handled setter responsibilities as he accounted for 36 of Manhattanville's 42 total assists. The graduate student added nine digs, trailing only
Evan Rapp's (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) 11 on the nights, alongside two aces, a total matched by Diamond and Gandarillas.
Jake Rothluebbers (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union High School) rounded out the leading defensive performers with seven digs, his most in a match this season.
The Valiants gained an early lead thanks to kills from Gandarillas and Diamond with a Gandarillas ace and never looked back in the opener. Yeshiva got on the board on a service error but a 4-0 Valiant run kept Manhattanville in the driver's seat. The home team's lead never dipped below four points as the Valiants forced the Maccabees to a -0.111 hitting percentage in the frame. Yeshiva couldn't muster a run larger than three points as the Valiants climbed to set point, earning the 25-16 win on Gandarillas' termination.
Set two saw a dominant effort from Manhattanville as the Valiants logged 15 kills to just three errors, hitting .364 to cruise to a two-set advantage. The Valiants opened on a 5-0 run with a pair of aces by Idris, kills from Gandarillas and Granados and a Yeshiva attack error. After trading off the next seven points, Manhattanville nabbed ten straight points as Diamond kickstarted the run with a kill that sent him to the service line. The junior notched a pair of aces in the run while Lau added two putaways. Up 18-4, the Valiants had little issue securing the set win 11 rallies later, 25-8.
The Maccabees showed fight in the final set, hitting a match-high .185 in the third. After a 2-0 start for the Valiants, Yeshiva collected the next two points to force the first tied score of the match. The Maccabees continued to match the Valiants stride-for-stride, ultimately taking their first lead of the contest at 10-9. After four more tied scores, Manhattanville delivered a big blow with a 4-0 run to jump out to a 17-13 lead. Yeshiva could not make up the lost ground before Lau sent the home crowd home happy with the match-winner, 25-21.
Up Next
Manhattanville opens a stretch of seven-straight road matches on Wednesday night at Saint Joseph's Brooklyn at 7 p.m.
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