BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Opening play at the weekend's SUNY Brockport Invitational, the Manhattanville University women's volleyball team took a straight-set decision over Hilbert College on a neutral floor on Friday evening. The Valiants are now off to a 2-0 start on the fresh campaign, the first time Manhattanville has opened a season with back-to-back sweep victories since 2022.

After dominating most of the season-opening win last week against WestConn, the Valiants found themselves in a tight one against the Hawks to begin the Brockport Invitational. Caylin Caballero (Eastvale, Calif./Walnut) made it back-to-back strong attack efforts to begin her collegiate career, leading Manhattanville with 14 kills in Friday's win. Caballero posted 13 putaways in last Saturday's season-opener. Her effort was complimented by a 10 kill outing from Loren Hernandez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/American Military Academy), who continues her march towards the 1,000 kill mark. The senior now stands at 972 terminations for her career, knocking on the doorstep of becoming the second player in program history to reach the milestone.

It was another double-double effort out of Hernandez, who provided 19 digs defensively. Kayla Jennings (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) led all players with a career-high 27 digs, while Alana Rivera Torres (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista de Guaynabo) added 14.

On the topic of Torres, the junior finished as the Valiants' leading setter with 12 assists. Samantha Andriola (Garden City South, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) was equally up to snuff with 11 sets, while Hernandez displayed a little of everything as she added four assists.

At the net, Amelia Morrison (Avon, Conn./Avon) logged three blocks, while Dominque Sanchez led the Valiants with three aces and Jennings supplying two of her own.

Despite the Hawks hitting negative in the opening frame, the Valiants could not break away from Hilbert, hindered by its own swing percentage of .021 in the set. Manhattanville jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before the Hawks answered in short with the next four. The Valiants racked up seven of the next eight points to take a 10-5 lead. Manhattanville looked to be in control as the lead swelled up to a seven-point margin at 18-11 and withstanding a three-point spurt by the Hawks with five of the next six to flirt with set point at 23-15. The Hawks were not ready to roll over, roaring to life with eight unanswered points to come out of nowhere and pull even at 23-23. Caballero stopped the bleeding with the biggest kill of her young career to put the Valiants on set point and regain the serve, which Sanchez made quick work of with a clinching ace to win the first one, 25-23.

Both teams posted their top attacking efforts of the match in the second set, with the Valiants swinging .146 to Hilbert's .140. Manhattanville was the beneficiary of another early run, scoring five straight to take a 7-4 lead. The Valiants never relinquished the lead, withstanding the Hawks cutting the deficit to a single point on five separate occasions. After a Valiant service error brought Hilbert within one against at 22-21, a Caballero kill, Jennings ace and putaway from Kaiel Maynor (Newark, N.J./Science Park) held off the threat for a 25-21 decision.

Falling behind 5-2 to open the third set, the Valiants rattled off 10 of the next 11 points to flip the script and go up 12-6. The Hawks again made a game of it, withstanding every Manhattanville run before a four-point burst allowed Hilbert to pull even at 20-all. The Valiants captured the next two points before the Hawks answered with three more of their own. The back-and-forth continued up to a 24-24 tie before the Valiants reached match point on a kill from Hernandez and captured the win on Morrison's third block of the night, capping off the 26-24 finale.

Up Next
Play resumes in Brockport tomorrow afternoon. The Valiants take on the host Golden Eagles at 12 p.m. ahead of another neutral-site matchup against SUNY Morrisville scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

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