KINGS POINT, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University women's volleyball team saw its remarkable 49-match winning streak against Skyline Conference opponents come to an end Friday night as the Valiants suffered their first conference loss in more than four years with a 3-0 loss at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. The Valiants fall to 4-6 overall on the season and are now 1-1 in Skyline action, while the Mariners improve to 14-2 (5-0 SKY).
Manhattanville's unprecedented winning streak, one that saw three perfect 11-0 Skyline Conference regular seasons and four-straight conference titles hoisted in the process, had dated back to Oct. 11, 2022, where the Valiants responded to a 3-0 loss at Farmingdale the week prior with a sweep of Purchase. Since then, Manhattanville was nearly untouchable in conference play, dropping just ten total sets across the 49-straight wins and only two matches going to a deciding fifth set.
A new-look Merchant Marine team led by ten freshmen snapped their six-match losing streak to the Valiants thanks to a height advantage that allowed USMMA to generate 38 kills and seven blocks, outpacing Manhattanville's 23 and four, respectively. The Valiants swung just .051 as a collective, their lowest attack percentage so far this season.
Cassidy Fallon (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) had another breakout game despite the loss, as the sophomore registered a career-high five aces while also being involved in all four of the Valiants' blocks. Fallon also finished third on the team on the night with three kills.
Eva Becerra (West Covina, Calif./Walnut) led the Valiants with eight assists and eight digs, with both
Alana Rivera Torres (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista de Guaynabo) (six) and
Kayla Jennings (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) (five) also featuring the setting game.
Caylin Caballero (Eastvale, Calif./Walnut) and
Ava Callaghan (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) once again led the attack, combining for 15 of Manhattanville's 23 kills. Caballero added seven digs to go with her team-high eight kills, while Becerra finished as the Valiants' leading defender with eight digs to compliment her seven putaways.
In an evenly-matched opening set, the Valiants and Mariners battled to seven different tied scores. Four of those came in the early stages, leading to a 5-5 stalemate that the Valiants broke with back-to-back kills from Fallon and Caballero. Manhattanville remained in front to 12-10, never leading by more than two points, before USMMA rattled off four-straight to retake the lead. Even once again at 16-16, the Mariners went back in front on a Sydney Douglas kill and Maddie Mayer ace. Manhattanville could not mount the necessary response, held to just four points without a run as the home side secured the 25-20 opening win.
With the momentum from the first set on their side, Merchant Marine hit .452 in the second while the Valiants struggled, swinging -.056. The result was the Mariners claiming the first three points of the set and never looking back, building a lead as high as 12 points at 20-8. Despite being in dire straits facing a 24-13 hole on the scoreboard, the Valiants refused to go away quietly as a bad set by Miran Zeng gave Fallon the ball at the serving line. The sophomore recorded three of her aces as part of Manhattanville's last gasp effort the produced a six-point run, but even with Fallon's serves finding the open floor, the gap was too much to overcome as an attack error gave USMMA a 2-0 lead with a 25-19 victory.
Manhattanville had their best offensive performance of the night in the third, but the team's .143 attack percentage was still shadowed by Merchant's .280. Tied 4-4, USMMA scored six of the next seven points to jump in front, later pushing the lead up to a six-point advantage. Down 13-7, Manhattanville went on another run with Fallon at the line, scoring five-straight the get back within one. This would be the story of the set, as Merchant continued to bend and not break every time the Valiants made it a one-score game. Manhattanville got back within a point on six separate occasions but could never find the equalizer before the Mariners put an end to the night and the Valiants' win streak with three-straight points, winning 25-21 on a Miranda Zeng clinching-ace.
Up Next
It's a quick turnaround for Manhattanville looking to bounce back tomorrow as the Valiants take on No. 12 Ithaca and William Paterson in tri-match play at William Paterson University starting at 1 p.m.
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