OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. - The Purchase College men's volleyball team split a Skyline Conference tri-match Saturday afternoon, beating SUNY Old Westbury to begin, before falling to Manhattanville University in five sets to close the event.

Individually, Ayden Mercado (FY/Brooklyn, NY) set the new program record for assists in a season with 768. He surpassed the previous mark of 723, which was set by Chris Shank during the 2009 campaign.

Game One: Purchase 3, Old Westbury 0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-19)

During the first matchup, the Blue and Orange cruised to the win as they bested the Panthers of Old Westbury in straight sets.

Overall, the guests finished with 47 kills on .272 hitting, while the hosts recorded tallies of 27 and .118, respectively.

Individually, Channing Williams (SO/Neptune, NJ) finished with match-high totals in kills (19) and digs (12).

Mercado recorded 37 assists, while Ethan Revaitis (SO/Stratford, NJ) totaled five kills and three solo blocks.

Game Two: Manhattanville 3, Purchase 2 (19-25, 21-25, 27-25, 25-19, 18-16)

The second game of the afternoon turned out to be a thriller, even if it favored the Valiants in the end.

Initially, the Panthers cruised to a pair of opening set wins, before Manhattanville rallied back with back-to-back sets of its own.

The fifth and final frame then saw tight action, before the guests prevailed during extra action.

Overall, the Blue and Orange finished with 55 kills on .126 hitting, while the Red and Black compiled 58 and .185, respectively.

Williams continued to power the effort, totaling 22 kills, 21 digs, three aces and three block assists.

Mercado collected 46 assists, which not only broke the single-season record, but also set a new career high for him. 

With the split result, the Panthers moved to 16-15 overall and 9-7 in the Skyline Conference.

Up next for the squad is a Skyline matchup at Yeshiva University on March 31st at 7:30 p.m.