BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University men's volleyball team opened a three-match week on the wrong end of a 3-0 score, falling in straight sets on the road at Sarah Lawrence. Beginning the second go-around against the Skyline Conference, the Valiants fall to 5-12 overall and 4-4 in conference play with the loss.

It was a tough night for the Manhattanville attack, swinging just .054 against the Gryphons. Trevor Kolar (South Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) and Pedro Machado (Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil/Colegio Oficina) found the most success with seven kills each, whole Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East) added five.

Kolar also finished as the Valiants' defensive leader as the rookie provided a season-high 10 digs. Evan Rapp (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) logged seven digs as Manhattanville's primary libero on the night, with Machado and Justin Lau (Queens, N.Y./Benjamin N. Cardozo) adding five digs each.

Mason Moon (Rockport, Texas/Rockport-Fulton) accounted for 21 of Manhattanville's 26 total assists, with Rapp chipping in with three.

Sarah Lawrence opened the first set with a 5-2 lead and blew things open with an 8-1 run that pushed the early advantage to 13-4. The Valiants were limited to a set-high run of three, allowing Manhattanville to get back within six at 16-10, but the scoreboard was not on the visiting team's side. The Gryphons took the opening set on a 6-0 run, winning by a final of 25-12.

Manhattanville fared better in the second, hitting a match-high .160, but Sarah Lawrence limited mistakes with just two errors to 13 kills. The Valiants had to play catch-up again after surrendering the first two points of the set, trailing by as many as five at 13-8. Facing the largest deficit, the Valiants rallied to take seven of the next eight points, leading for the first time all match. Manhattanville remained in the lead up to 19-18 when the hosts rattled off six-straight to suddenly reach set point. The Valiants extended the match with a Machado kill, but the Gryphons took the set 25-20 following Manhattanville's ensuing service error.

Sarah Lawrence opened again with a lead, staking claim to a 5-2 advantage in the third. The Gryphons led up to 8-4 when a service error opened the door for the Valiants, getting kills from Gandarillas and Lau while Moon and Lau combined for a block to tie things up at 8-8. The home side responded by taking the next three points, setting up a back-and-forth that led to another tie at 17-17. Gandarillas broke the tie with a putaway to put Manhattanville ahead again, but Sarah Lawrence took the next four points and six of the following seven to begin pulling away at 23-19. The Valiants won three of the following four points, but could not keep the Gryphons off of match point as Jack Cahill delivered the final blow with a match-sealing kill at 25-22.

Up Next
The Valiants open a three-match homestand on Thursday night, hosting Mount Saint Vincent at 6 p.m.

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