Box Score

Purchase, NY (Aug. 30, 2013) – The women's volleyball team opened the fall schedule Friday at neighboring rival Manhattanville.

Although the Valiants posted a 3-0 victory, winning 25-18, 25-17 and 25-15, Purchase looked sharp in the season-opening matchup against a tough non-conference opponent. The match also marked the beginning of the Marc Solondz era, as the new head coach embarks on his first season behind the bench at Purchase after leading NYU-POLY to multiple championships.

"We led to start in both the second and third sets, only to let up and drop the match," Solondz explained of the loss. "However, it was good play for our first match, especially from the three freshmen and Cat Mulvey."  

Purchase's top hitter was rookie Alicia McCarthy (FR/Plano, TX), who netted eight kills. Mulvey (SR/Scarsdale, NY) and Alex Lally (FR/Sunnyvale, TX) each recorded five apiece in defeat. Fellow newcomer Olivia Schoeller (FR/Ronkonkoma, NY) handed out 10 assists, while Lally totaled nine. Libero Leticia Barrientos (JR/Elmsford, NY) led the way defensively with 16 digs.

Manhattanville (1-0) was led by Susy Camaj and Jillian Chittenden, who finished with nine and eight kills, respectively.

"The team played hard but lost to a much improved Manhattanville squad," Solondz noted. "We were a bit sloppy in coverage and got into a rut in serve receive in the third set, when we went from up 11-7 to down 12-16."

The Panthers (0-1) will look to rebound Wednesday night when they host the College of Staten Island at 7 p.m. in the team's home opener.

-With Marc Solondz