PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University women's volleyball team returned home in triumphant fashion, defeating Mount Saint Mary 3-1 on the court of Kennedy Gymnasium. The Valiants snap a three-match skid with the victory (22-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-12), improving to 5-8 overall and 2-1 in the Skyline Conference, while the Knights fall to 9-5 and suffer their first conference defeat, now at 2-1 in Skyline play.
Tuesday's match was a collaborative partnership between both volleyball programs in support of the Side-Out Foundation for a Dig Pink game to raise funds and support for metastatic breast cancer. Those wishing to learn more about the cause and donate can find out more at
www.govaliants.com/pink.
After hitting sub-.051 across each of the last three matches, the Valiants returned to form with a season-high .240 attack percentage in the win, setting new season highs with 55 kills and 54 assists while matching their defensive effort of 86 digs from Sept. 25 at Nichols.
The attack effort was led by three with double-digit kill totals.
Caylin Caballero (Eastvale, Calif./Walnut) led the way with her first double-double of her sophomore campaign, delivering 17 kills with 17 digs.
Ava Callaghan (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) also posted a double-double, her third of her rookie season, with 12 kills and 16 digs.
Aurea Obradors (Barcelona, Spain/Benjamin Franklin International School) joined the barrage with 11 kills, setting a new career-high and reaching double-figures for the first time since Oct. 30 2025 against Old Westbury.
The setting game also ran through a trio of Valiants, with
Alana Rivera Torres (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista de Guaynabo) providing a team-high 25 assists.
Eva Becerra (West Covina, Calif./Walnut) added 18 as part of the starting lineup and posted her second-straight double-double as she dug out a season-high 18 balls on the defensive end. Not to be left out of the fun,
Kayla Jennings (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) etched the fourth Valiant double-double of the night with 27 digs to complement her career-high 11 assists.
Obradors, Caballero and
Cassidy Fallon (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) were forces at the net, each adding three blocks to their ledgers.
The Valiants looked to be poised to take control of the opening set as they began the night with an 8-2 advantage thanks to a pair of kills by Obradors, one apiece from Callaghan and Caballero, a Jennings ace and three Knight attack errors. Mount Saint Mary had other plans, determined to show they are not the same Knights team that had not taken a set against the Valiants since 2021. The guests eventually erased Manhattanville's lead by tying the score up at 15-15, the first of six tied scores down the stretch. The teams remained even at 21-21, where the Knights went on the pivotal 4-1 run to take the opening set, 25-22.
 After going back-and-forth to begin the second, the Knights began to pull away with a 6-0 run to go ahead 14-9, prompting a Valiant timeout. The adjustments made in the huddle worked, as the Valiants returned to the floor and rattled off seven-straight points to roar back to life and take a 16-14 lead. The Knights had no response to the blow, ultimately falling 25-19 on an Obradors kill.
Carrying the momentum into the third, the Valiants were able to stake claim to an early 5-2 lead that held the rest of the way. The home side gained breathing room with a 5-0 run to go up 15-7, thanks to kills from Fallon and Callaghan and an Obradors block coupled with a pair of attack errors. The Knights were able to close the gap to two points following a 7-1 run that sliced into the Valiant lead to 19-17, but the Valiants responded with the next four to regain control before winning a second-straight 25-19 decision.
Manhattanville saved their best for last, swinging .303 in the fourth as the Knights went into the negatives. The Valiants took a 5-1 lead following a pair of Callaghan aces before blowing the doors open with an 8-0 run with Becerra at the service line that swelled the advantage to 14-3. The Knights ran out of steam and were unable to claw their way back in as the Valiants secured their second conference win of the season with the 25-12 decision.
Up Next
The Valiants are back on the road on Thursday at Farmingdale for a 7 p.m. tilt.
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