PURCHASE, N.Y. — The Manhattanville University men's volleyball team endured its second Skyline Conference loss on Saturday morning, dropping a three-setter against St. Joseph's Brooklyn inside Kennedy Gymnasium. The Valiants drop to 4-10 overall and now stand 3-2 in conference play.
The Valiants battled through two tightly contested sets, with both extending to or beyond the 25-point mark. Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East) continued his strong start to his junior year, leading the way with 12 kills. Mason Moon (Rockport, Texas/Rockport-Fulton) also had a notable performance, leading the team in assists with a season-best of 33 while providing 10 digs. Meanwhile, Justin Lau (Queens, N.Y./Benjamin N. Cardozo) led the team in hitting percentage with .300, marking four kills and one assist.
Matt Diamond (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) finished with 14 digs to lead the Valiants, with Fernando Martinez (Hartsdale, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac), Pedro Machado (Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil/Colegio Oficina), and Moon each adding an ace on the service line.
The Bears opened the match with five straight points before the Valiants added their first tally after a solid block by Gandarillas and Wilton Martinez (Bronx, N.Y./Celia Cruz Bronx HS of Music). This sparked a slow but steady uptick in activity on the Valiants' court side as they added a 5-2 run, cutting the lead to three points. Applying the same tactics, they extended another 5-2 run to level the score at 11.
Both teams retaliated and again found themselves tied at 14-14 before rallying again. The Valiants led by as many as five before finding themselves level again at 22-22. The two teams continued to go blow-for-blow into extras, finding themselves tied three more times before a service error handed the ball to St. Joseph's where the Bears ultimately took the first set, 29-27.
Manhattanville struck first in the second off a kill from Gandarillas after a perfect set from Moon. The Bears, however, responded with a 10-2 run, pushing the Valiants down significantly by seven. Manhattanville was unable to make up much ground as Saint Joseph's swung .304 in the set to win 25-12.
The final set featured 11 score ties, with neither side amassing a lead above four. The Valiants claimed the first four-point lead at 11-7 before the Bears scored six of the next seven to jump ahead. Saint Joseph's began marching to match point, pulling ahead 22-18, before the Valiants went on a 7-2 run to get to set point at 25-24. The back-and-forth through the extended set conitnued to a 27-27 stalemate, at which point a Valiant attack error opened the door for the Bears. In contorl of the serve, Jeremias Martinez capped off the marathon frame with a match-winning kill, 29-27.
Up Next:
The Valiants will continue conference play, returning to the court on March 11th as they head to Patchogue, N.Y., to face St. Joseph's Long Island at 7 PM.
