PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University men's volleyball team concluded the regular season on Friday afternoon inside Kennedy Gymnasium, celebrating Senior Day while taking to the court against the Golden Eagles of Saint Joseph's Long Island. Despite the loss, the Valiants celebrated their two roster members of the Class of 2026 and are postseason bound for the third time in the program's three-year history.

Mason Moon (Rockport, Texas/Rockport-Fulton) and Matt Diamond (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) both made their way to Manhattanville ahead of the 2025 season, Moon via Wells College and Diamond from Rivier University. The two members of the Class of 2026 made immediate impacts in their Valiant debuts last season and continued to bring a veteran presence to a young team as they played their final collegiate seasons wearing uniforms bearing the name Manhattanville across the chest.

The seniors fittingly were heavily featured in Manhattanville's game plan, with Moon leading the Valiants with 23 assists while adding five digs and Diamond finishing second on the team with six digs at libero.

Trevor Kolar (South Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) capped off his stellar freshman regular season with a team-best 12 kills, followed by Kyle Simmons' (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial) nine and a seven-piece from Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East). Simmons also finished as Manhattanville's leader in digs with eight, while Pedro Machado (Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil/Colegio Oficina) complimented Moon's setting effort with 13 assists to go along with six kills and six digs.

Fernando Martinez (Hartsdale, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) accounted for the Valiants' lone ace in the loss, while Adrian Bonilla (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Baldwin School of Puerto Rico) had a team-high three blocks.

The Golden Eagles capped off a perfect 14-0 regular season against the Skyline with the three-setter win, outhitting Manhattanville .306-.143. Saint Joseph's took momentum early, responding to Kolar's match-opening kill with four straight points and six of the next seven to go up 6-2. The Valiants got back within two before the visitors went on another 4-0 spurt to go up 10-4. Manhattanville was limited to one-and-dones while holding the serve as the Golden Eagles furthered their lead up to 20-11. The home side was able to finally string back-to-back points together for the first time since trailing 6-4 after an attack error and Machado-Justin Lau (Queens, N.Y./Benjamin N. Cardozo) block made it a 20-13 score. The Golden Eagles took the next two, but Manhattanville showed signs of life with a 5-1 run. Unfortunately, there was too much ground to cover as Saint Joseph's took the win 25-19 three rallies later.

Saint Joseph's made quicker work of set two, hitting a match-high .394 with 15 kills to two errors. The Golden Eagles took the lead on a 6-1 run to go up 8-4 and never looked back, later using three- and six-point runs to pull away 18-8. The Valiants could not mount a response, ultimately falling 25-15.

With Saint Joseph's opening the third set with three-straight points, the Golden Eagles threatened to put the frame out of reach early. However, Manhattanville was able to keep up with the Skyline's top seed, tying things up at 4-4 and staying within striking distance at a three-point deficit at 11-8. A crucial 6-1 run for the Golden Eagles regained some distance between the two teams, as Manhattanville was never able to get back within five as Chris Saricola closed out the victory for SJLI, 25-19.

Up Next
With the loss, the Valiants are locked in to the No. 3 seed for next week's Skyline Conference Championship Tournament. They will make the short trip up Anderson Hill Road to second-seeded Purchase College on Wednesday, with start time to be announced.

VALIANTS on SOCIAL MEDIA For the latest on Manhattanville Athletics, follow the Valiants via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads and YouTube. #WeAreValiant #GoValiants