NEW YORK, NY – The Manhattanville University men's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches at the John Jay College Tri-match on Saturday. The Valiants (0-3) wrap up the opening weekend of the season with three hard-fought outings.

MATCH ONE – Wilkes 3 (25-15, 25-23, 25-16), Manhattanville 1 (25-19)
Meeting on the neutral court to begin the day for the Valiants, the Colonels (4-5, 0-0 CVC) started its second match of the day with four kills and five service aces to grab an early 13-5 lead. Kills from Trevor Kolar (South Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman), Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East), and Adrian Bonilla (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Baldwin School of Puerto Rico) slowly chipped the deficit down to six (18-12) before Wilkes answered with four straight points, inching away from their first set (22-13). Back-and-forth kills from both sides of the net ended with the Colonels holding on to take set one, 25-15.
Set two started with service errors across the court, with both teams benefiting by four. After two straight kills for Wilkes, Manhattanville put down six straight with two kills from Kolar to jump ahead 10-6. Kills from Justin Lau (Queens, N.Y./Benjamin N. Cardozo), Bonilla, and Kyle Simmons (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial) furthered the Valiants' lead to five (14-9). The Colonels found a spark on offense, recording three kills and three service aces from James Brust to jump ahead 17-14. Both sides benefited from errors to push the score into the twenties before ultimately Wilkes sealed set two 25-23.
Manhattanville fought to avoid the sweep immediately, but two kills from Simmons and a service ace from Kolar left the Valiants out 6-2 early. Alternating kills and service errors, the Vals held on to a slight lead 13-10 before Simmons, Kolar, and Gandarillas expanded the cushion by six. A strike from Bonilla was followed by Fernando Martinez (Hartsdale, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) sending it straight with an ace, and Gandarillas sealing the third set 25-19.
The Valiants were defeated 25-16 in the fourth set after allowing the Colonels to take advantage of 12 attacking errors. Gandarillas, Simmons, and Kolar led the effort in the attempted comeback with two kills apiece.
In game one of the day, Kolar led the Valiants with 10 kills and seven digs. Mason Moon (Rockport, Texas/Rockport-Fulton) and Pedro Machado (Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil/Colegio Oficina) sent it out around the court with 18 and 11 assists, respectively.

MATCH TWO – John Jay 3 (25-22, 25-17, 25-23), Manhattanville 0
John Jay (1-2, 0-1 CUNYAC)  and Manhattanville traded leads early in set one to set the tone of the match. A kill from Matthew Diamond, followed by two service aces from Simmons, tied the game with five before the Bloodhounds grabbed four consecutive to hold a slight lead. The two teams found themselves exchanging two or three rallies at a time before the home team found the end of set one, 25-22.
Keeping pace, kills from the Bloodhounds, as well as Kolar, Simmons, and Diamond kept the score within reach with the host holding a slight 11-8 lead. The home team stayed consistent throughout the second set, slowly pushing the margin before taking set two 25-17.
Simmons and Diamond started set three with a kill a piece before Kolar put down two straight to give the Vals the upper hand, 6-3. Two kills by Simmons and a strike from Martinez held the lead (11-8). The home team brought the game within two, only for Simmons to push back out to four (16-12). After trading possessions, the Bloodhounds and the Valiants found even ground at 20. Despite Gandarillas and Kolar sending it down, the home team sent down three kills and secured the sweep 25-23 on their home court.
Simmons fronted the offense with 13 kills, followed close behind by Kolar with 10. Luca Peterson (Boston, Mass./Newton North) made his presence known in game two, recording 25 assists. Diamond and Simmons held strong on defense with five digs apiece.

Up Next – The Valiants return home on Thursday, Feb 5, to face Pratt Institute at 7 PM.