PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University women's volleyball team made its long-awaited home debut on Friday night, sweeping Hunter College in three sets. The Valiants improve to 2-3 on the year, while the Hawks fall to 1-3.
The Valiants were led offensively by the dual-headed threat of
Caylin Caballero (Eastvale, Calif./Walnut) and
Ava Callaghan (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley). The 2025 Skyline Rookie of the Year Caballero led all attackers with 11 kills, while the freshman Callaghan provided ten terminations in her Kennedy Gym debut.
Alana Rivera Torres (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista de Guaynabo) led the setting effort with 13 assists, while
Eva Becerra (West Covina, Calif./Walnut) supplied another nine. Rivera Torres had a solid all-over performance, adding nine digs and four aces on the night.
Kayla Jennings (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) had 16 digs to pace the defensive effort, now surpassing 15 in each of the first five matches of the season. The senior libero matched Rivera Torres' match-high with four aces.
Cassidy Fallon (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) was a force at the net, ending the night with a career-high nine blocks. Caballero added five rejections of her own as Manhattanville's 11 team blocks was the most put up by the Valiants in more than a decade. The Valiants last compiled 11 blocks against Alvernia on Oct. 3, 2015.
Stepping on the home court for the first time since raising the Skyline Conference Championship trophy last November, the Valiants raised their title banner in the rafters before opening serve. Manhattanville picked up right where it left off the last time it took to the Kennedy floor, opening the night on a 5-0 run. Hunter would trail the duration of the set, making it a two-point score at 9-7. A Hawk service error halted Hunter's momentum as Manhattanville scored 12 of the next 13 points to erupt to a 21-8 advantage.
Aurea Obradors (Barcelona, Spain/Benjamin Franklin International School) delivered the final blow with a set-winning kill at 25-15.
The Hawks took a 3-0 lead to begin the second on a pair of aces and a block, but the lead would be shortlived as Caballero captured the Valiants' first point with a kill to begin an 8-1 run the permanently put the home side ahead. Hunter was held to just a single two-point run over the remainder of the set as the Valiants marched towards set point. Manhattanville compiled a trio of three-point spurts, winning the set on the third as Becerra served the clinching ace of a 25-13 win.
Riding the momentum, the Valiants scored the first four points of the third set to take the final lead of the night. Hunter remained in striking distance after narrowing the lead to 10-8, but Caballero spotted the home side breathing room with a kill to begin a five-point swing. The Valiants led by as many as ten at 20-10, and while Hunter was able to prolong the night with seven of the next ten points, a kill by Caballero and a match-clinching ace by Jennings capped off the sweep with a 25-17 win.
Up Next
The Valiants head to Massachusetts in a week for the first-ever meeting against Nichols College on Sept. 25 at 6 p.m.
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