WAYNE, N.J. – The Manhattanville University women's volleyball team dropped both ends of Saturday's tri-match action, falling in three sets to No. 12 Ithaca ahead of a four-set loss to hosting William Paterson. The Valiants drop to 4-8 with the losses.
Match One Recap: Manhattanville 0, No. 12 Ithaca 3 (17-25, 19-25, 9-25)
Squaring off against ranked competition for the first time since last year's NCAA Tournament, the Valiants were felled in three sets to the 12
th-ranked Bombers, who earned their eighth-straight win.
Manhattanville finished with a .000 attack percentage, finishing with 19 kills to an equal amount of attack errors.
Caylin Caballero (Eastvale, Calif./Walnut) was able to find the most success in the limited opportunities with seven kills, while
Ava Callaghan (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) provided another six.
Callaghan also finished as Manhattanville's defensive leader as the freshman finished with a season-high 16 digs.
Kayla Jennings (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) and
Eva Becerra (West Covina, Calif./Walnut) both added eight digs on the defensive end of the floor.
Becerra earned eight of the Valiants' 18 assists, with six more coming via
Alana Rivera Torres (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista de Guaynabo) and the libero Jennings supplying the remaining two.
Manhattanville was held without a block for the first time this season. The Valiants last finished a match without a block on Oct. 28, 2025 in a three-set win over Yeshiva.
Coming off last night's loss and facing their stiffest competition of the year, Manhattanville was able to stay in it against the Bombers through the first two sets. Ithaca captured five of the opening six points, but the Valiants evened the score at 5-5 thanks to a pair of Caballero kills, another from Callaghan and an Ithaca attack error. Manhattanville took the lead at 8-7 off a kill by
Samantha Andriola (Garden City South, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) and another Ithaca attacking miscue, but the Bombers rattled off the next three to go back ahead for good. The Valiants got back within one twice, but a 10-2 Bomber run put Ithaca comfortably ahead at 21-12. Ithaca's lead climbed to 24-14, where the Valiants mounted one last push with three-straight, but Zoe Strachan delivered the clincher at 25-17 with a kill.
Manhattanville swung a match-high .148 in the second, but the Bomber attack was also clicking for their best effort of the contest at .406. After surrendering the opening two points, the Valiants went on their first of two four-point runs of the set, getting kills from Callaghan, Caballero,
Amelia Morrison (Avon, Conn./Avon) and a Callaghan ace. With the Valiants up 6-5, the Bombers earned eight of the following 11 points to take at 13-9 advantage. Manhattanville immediately responded with another four-point run fueled by a pair of aces from Becerra and a kill by Callaghan. After the back-and-forth, Ithaca flexed its prowess by taking control with a 6-1 run to retake the lead at 19-14. Manhattanville could not piece together another necessary run, ultimately falling 25-19.
Ithaca went on to overpower the Valiants in the third, outhitting Manhattanville .364 to -.069. The Bombers jumped out to a 5-2 lead and never looked back, later going on a 11-2 run to blow the frame open at 17-6. Ithaca closed the sweep out with the 25-9 decision in the third.
Match Two Recap: Manhattanville 1, William Paterson 3 (18-25, 17-25, 25-20, 13-25)
The Valiants were able to avoid a third-straight sweep loss by taking a set from William Paterson in the finale of the day's action, but the Pioneers were able to earn their third-straight win against Manhattanville to end their day on a high note.
Callaghan took point as the attack leader, recording nine kills along with a pair of blocks. Caballero finished with eight kills while
Cassidy Fallon (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) added six with two blocks of her own.
After being held to single-digit dig totals over the last two matches, Jennings returned to form with 30 against William Paterson. It was the second time this season the senior recorded at least 30 digs behind her 38-dig performance on Sept. 25 at Nichols. Caballero and Becerra added 11 digs each.
Becerra collected her first double-double with a team-high 13 assists to compliment her defensive play. Andriola added seven assists of her own with Rivera Torres adding another six.
Manhattanville notched nine aces, with Rivera Torres and Becerra logging four each.
After four early ties saw William Paterson take a 6-4 lead, the Valiants went on a 7-1 run to go in front 11-7. The Pioneers followed in suite with their own 7-1 burst to go back ahead at 15-13. Manhattanville was able to get within one on three separate occasions before William Paterson gained some needed separation with six unanswered points, going up 23-16. The home side finished things up four rallies later, with Makayda Aldrich delivering the clinching spike at 25-18.
Trading opening three-point spurts, the Pioneers took the lead at 5-3. William Paterson later scored another six-consecutive points to take control, leading 13-5. Manhattanville showed some life with the next four points and five of the following six, but the Pioneer lead was too big to overcome as William Paterson went on to win 25-17 on a Cecilia Miller ace.
The Valiants took advantage of the Pioneers swinging negative in the third to capture their first set of the weekend. Three-straight William Paterson attack errors and a Becerra ace put the guests in front to open the frame before the Pioneers came back to take an 8-6 lead. With the Pioneers still up 12-11, kills by Fallon and
Aurea Obradors (Barcelona, Spain/Benjamin Franklin International School) coupled with a William Paterson attack error swung the lead back over to the Valiants. The Pioneers tied things up again at 16-16 before Manhattanville took seven of the next eight thanks to three Rivera Torres aces and three more Pioneer miscues. From there, kills by Caballero and Andriola brought the Valiants to the clincher at 25-20.
William Paterson's attack returned to form in the fourth, hitting a match-high .278. The Valiants could not piece together a run larger than two points in the set as the Pioneers marched towards match point, seizing control off an eight-point run to lead 23-10. Tinashe Magura closed out the day with her third kill of the contest, winning the set for William Paterson, 25-13.
Up Next
Manhattanville looks to get back into the win column on Tuesday, returning home to host Mount Saint Mary at 6 p.m.
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