PURCHASE, N.Y. – For the first time in program history, the Manhattanville University men's volleyball team is headed to the Skyline Conference Championship Finals. The third-seeded Valiants defeated No. 2 Purchase College on Wednesday night inside SUNY Gymnasium in four sets (19-25, 25-17, 29-27, 25-22) to punch their ticket to Saturday's championship match at top-seeded Saint Joseph's Long Island.
Manhattanville put forth one of its best matches of the season, with the team's 52 kills the second-most posted by the Valiants in a contest this year while the .314 attack percentage was their fourth-best on the campaign.
Kyle Simmons' (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial) hot streak since his return from injury on Mar. 25 continued with a team-high 15 kills. The sophomore fell two shy of his season-best, coming in that aforementioned return match also against Purchase two weeks ago.
Simmons was joined by Manhattanville's two All-Conference selections of
Trevor Kolar (South Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) and
Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East) in the leading offensive effort, with the tandem supplying 14 and 11 kills, respectively.
Kolar also led the defensive effort with eight digs, finishing one ahead of Simmons and libero
Evie Rapp (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore). Two more Valiants—Gandarillas and
Mason Moon (Rockport, Texas/Rockport-Fulton)—were also all over the floor with six digs each. Moon also handled a majority of setting duties, finishing with 26 assists.
Pedro Machado (Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil/Colegio Oficina) joined him as a leading setter as the junior added 19 assists of his own.
In addition to the red-hot attack effort, Manhattanville recorded 12 blocks at the net, a program record.
Justin Lau (Queens, N.Y./Benjamin N. Cardozo) and
Adrian Bonilla (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Baldwin School of Puerto Rico) caused fits for Purchase's hitters all night long with five block assists each. Simmons, unsurprisingly, also heavily stood out in the block department with four assisted rejections of his own.
Manhattanville opened the night swinging only .125 across the first set compared to the gaudy numbers the team would post as the contest progressed. Purchase was able to take advantage of the Valiants' slow start, breaking a 6-6 tie with four straight points. Manhattanville would try to play catch-up the rest of the set, making up a chunk of ground with a 6-1 run to make it a 15-14 deficit. The Panthers were able to regain some distance with five of the next six and were able to take the set without much more trouble at 25-19.
The Valiants stepped into another gear starting in the second, swinging .304 in the set as Purchase dipped into the negatives at -.077. The Panthers led by as many as five before Manhattanville roared back, going on a 6-1 run to tie things up at 11-11. Purchase would not score again while controlling the serve for the rest of the set as the Valiants pulled away with a 9-2 run to go up 20-14. Kolar brought an end to things eight rallies later with a set-winning kill at 25-17 to tie the match at a set apiece.
Purchase's attack effort bounced back to .294 in the third, but the Valiants only got more efficient at a .464 clip, posting 16 kills to just three errors. Manhattanville would ultimately need each and every one of those putaways as 25 points was not enough to determine a winner of the third. The teams fought to 16 different tied scores, matching each other stride for stride. Both sides' lead maxed out at three, first with Purchase leading 15-12 and 17-14 before the Valiants came back to go up 21-18. Simmons put the Valiants on set point with a kill at 24-23, but Purchase extended the set with back-to-back kills via Udel Phillips. The back-and-forth continued to the Panthers' lead of 27-26, when Gandarillas evened it up again with his kill. Manhattanville finally capped off the marathon with a kill from Kolar before Lau and Machado teamed up for the winning block at 29-27.
Feeding off the energy of the crucial third set win, the Valiants closed out the night with a .444 effort in the fourth. Nine more ties dictated the tone with the lead once again capping on both sides at just a three point margin. The Panthers were the beneficiaries of the first three-point lead at 7-4 before the Valiants came back to take a 10-9 lead. After the Panthers went ahead 13-11, the Valiants went on a set-high four-point run. Manhattanville remained in front until a 19-19 stalemate, with the Vals breaking the tie on a Gandarillas kill and Kolar ace. It would be the final lead change of the night as Purchase was unable to cover the gap one last time. Simmons put the Valiants on match point with a kill at 24-21, and while a Martinez kill kept the Panthers alive for the moment, Purchase's ensuing serve sailed out the back of the court to give the Valiants the 25-22 victory.
Up Next
The Valiants head to Long Island on Saturday for the championship match against Saint Joseph's Long Island at 11 a.m.
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