PURCHASE, NY – The Maritime College volleyball team closed out its 2023 campaign at Thursday night at Skyline Conference-leading Manhattanville.  The Valiants (18-9, 11-0 Skyline) earned their 20^th consecutive win against conference opposition, defeating the Privateers (7-15, 3-8 Skyline) by a score of 25-14, 25-9, 25-10 at Kennedy Gymnasium.

There were six ties and three lead changes early in the first set.  After Maritime went up 5-4 on a Jessica Mele (Southold, NY) service ace, Manhattanville rattled off six of the next seven points to take a 10-6 lead.  The Privateers got back within 12-9, but the Valiants ended the set on a 13-5 rally to close out a 25-14 win.

In the second set, Manhattanville raced out to a 10-2 advantage.  A Diana Rodriguez (Queens, NY) brought the Privateers within 14-6 before the Valiants extended their cushion to 19-7.  After Maritime won the next two points, Manhattanville scored six straight to finish off the set, 25-9, and go ahead 2-0 in the match.

Manhattanville again built an early cushion in the third set.  The Valiants opened up a 7-2, then a Mele kill and an Ashley Pavarini (Ossining, NY) ace cut the Privateers' deficit to 7-4.  Maritime would get no closer, however, as Manhattanville used a 13-2 run to increase its edge to 20-7.  The Valiants finished off the sweep by capturing the third set, 25-10.

Mele led Maritime with eight kills and seven digs.  Erica Pagano (Lawrence, NY) added six digs, and Kelly Kuhn (Lansdale, PA), who was playing libero for the first time in her career, finished with five digs.  Pavarini handed out nine assists for the Privateers.

As a team, Manhattanville posted a .425 hitting percentage (36 kills, 5 errors, 73 attempts).  Alya Ruiz had a match-high nine kills for the Valiants, while Emily Brown, Sofia Morales and Loren Hernandez contributed six kills apiece.  Vianca Vital, meanwhile, finished with 22 assists and 14 digs to go along with five kills and seven aces.

This was the final match for each of Maritime's six seniors.  Mele ends her career with 422 total kills, fifth-most in program history, and 456 digs, which ranks 10^th on the Privateers' all-time list.