COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa, October 13, 2017 – Making its fourth long trip of the season, the Monroe College women's volleyball team split its first two matches on its first day at the Reiver Festival, hosted by Iowa Western Community College. The Mustangs dropped a tightly contested first match against Central Community College-Columbus in five sets, but rebounded for a three-set win over Iowa Lakes Community College to close out the day. Monroe moves to 16-8 overall on the season with Friday's split.
 
MATCH 1: CENTRAL CC-COLUMBUS 3, MONROE 2
Friday's opener was as close as they come, taking five sets and plenty of extra points to determine a victor. The Mustangs took control of the match early on, claiming a 25-18 win in the opening set. Monroe then went up by two sets with a 25-19 win. The Raiders bounced back, winning a close set, 25-22, to keep the match going. The two teams were neck-and-neck in the fourth frame, needing well more than 25 points to win the game. The Raiders made the last run of the set, taking a 31-29 win to knot things up at 2-2 and force the deciding fifth set. The final stanza continued the trend from the preceding one, unfortunately concluding with the same result, as Central came out on top with a 17-15 win to complete the comeback victory.
 
MATCH 2: MONROE 3, IOWA LAKES 0
After a tough loss to start the day, the Mustangs were determined to right the ship before leaving the arena. They got things started on the right foot, quickly taking a 25-14 win in the first set. The momentum kept rolling for the Mustangs, who then took a 25-16 victory in the next game to claim a 2-0 lead in the match. Monroe closed things out by once again earning a 25-14 win for a 3-0 sweep of the Lakers.
 
The Mustangs will play two more matches on Saturday, Oct. 14, as they conclude their trip to the Reiver Festival. Monroe takes on Highland Community College (Kansas) at 11 a.m. EST to start the day, and finishes the weekend against tournament host, and No. 3-ranked Iowa Western Community College at 1 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 26 teams competing across nine sports. There are 18 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's rugby, and the newly added club women's rugby team, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, will have six teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level beginning in the fall of 2017.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe College Athletics), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs), and follow Mustang women's volleyball on Instagram (@monroecollege_wvb).