PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University women's volleyball team was defeated by visiting Kean University on Tuesday night, dropping a three-setter to the Cougars. The loss (25-21, 25-21, 25-21) drops the Valiants to 2-5 on the season, while Kean improves to 5-6 overall.
Kean swung at a .275 clip as a team in the victory, the highest attack percentage by a Valiant opponent thus far into the season. Manhattanville put up one of their best attacking performances of the year as well, with the .158 attack percentage ranking as the third-highest across seven total matches, but the Cougars were able to outlast the home side across each of the three sets.
Stepping on the floor for the first time since surpassing 1,000 career digs,
Kayla Jennings (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) once again led the Manhattanville defensive effort with 12 digs. The senior libero added an ace and an assist in the loss.
Alana Rivera Torres (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista de Guaynabo) and
Eva Becerra (West Covina, Calif./Walnut) split setting duties, accounting for all but one of the Valiants' 27 assists. The former finished with 14 helpers, reaching double figures for the seventh-straight match, while the latter's 12 assists were the second-most she's posted in a contest this rookie season.
Caylin Caballero's (Eastvale, Calif./Walnut) nine kills paced the Valiant attack, while
Ava Callaghan (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) finished with eight.
Amelia Morrison (Avon, Conn./Avon) matched her season-high with four kills of her own.
Kean dealt the first blow of the night, taking a 6-3 lead on a five-point run. The Valiants were able to close the gap on a five-point run of their own, taking a 12-11 lead thanks to a Cougar service error, three attack errors and a kill from
Baudilette Lasanta (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Academia del Perpetuo Socorro). With the set tied at 14-14, the Cougars went back ahead thanks to kills by Madison Hopkins and Ashley Torok. The two-point gap was enough to last the rest of the way home, as Manhattanville was unable to piece together a run as Kean took the opening frame 25-21 on another Torok kill.
Manhattanville was in the driver's seat early in the second, taking a 4-2 advantage thanks to kills from Callaghan, Caballero and a Kean attack error. Maintaining the lead at 8-5, Manhattanville rattled off six-straight points, fueled by a pair of kills from both Callaghan and Morrison. The Valiants extended the lead to 17-8 before the Cougars came to life, With Manhattanville up 21-15, the Cougars erupted for ten unanswered points to steal the set, once again a 25-21 final.
Both teams' attacks cooled off for the third, posting their lowest attack percentages of the night. Once again the home side led early, with the Valiants going ahead 5-3 following a pair of Kean errors and a
Cassidy Fallon (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) ace. The advantage was short-lived as the Cougars took the next four rallies. Manhattanville pulled even again thanks to two more Cougar misplays, but Kean scored eight of the following ten points to take a 15-9 lead. The Valiants fought back to a pair of two-point deficits, but the scoreboard was not on their side as Kean finished with points in three of the final four rallies to capture a third-straight 25-21 win.
Up Next
The Valiants will open the new month on the road on Thursday night, traveling into the city to take on CCNY at 7 p.m.
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