Manhattanville opened the 2026 women's volleyball season Tuesday night with a hard-fought matchup against Montclair State, but the Valiants were unable to overcome the Red Hawks in a 3-0 defeat at the Panzer Athletic Center. Each set finished by the same 25-21 score, with Manhattanville showing stretches of strong play but Montclair consistently making the key plays late in each frame. Ava Callaghan led the Valiants with 11 kills while Caylin Caballero added seven kills and 11 digs. Alana Rivera Torres also helped direct the offense with 18 assists, while Kayla Jennings provided a strong all-around performance with 21 digs and two service aces.
The opening set featured several momentum swings. Montclair jumped out to an early advantage before Manhattanville settled in and eventually took an 8-7 lead following consecutive plays from Jennings and Caballero. The Valiants continued to battle and remained within reach throughout the middle portion of the set, but Montclair used a late 5-2 stretch to take control before closing out the frame, 25-21. The Red Hawks carried that momentum into the second set, opening with an 11-3 advantage. Manhattanville responded by cutting the deficit to four, but Montclair answered each challenge and eventually took another 25-21 set.
Manhattanville showed its strongest push in the third set, jumping in front 12-8 after an 8-2 run that included six consecutive points. The Valiants held the lead at 18-16, putting themselves in position to extend the match, but Montclair responded with a 6-2 run to even the set. Manhattanville briefly regained the advantage at 21-18, but the Red Hawks closed the match with seven straight points to complete the sweep. Montclair was led by Breanna Craig, who finished with 13 kills while hitting .667, while Ava Fielder added eight kills and Lucy Cornelius recorded 32 assists and three aces. Aleena Whitehead also finished with a match-high 22 digs.