TWIN FALLS, Idaho, September 8, 2017 – After falling to Starr Corporation Invitational host College of Southern Idaho in its season opener on Thursday, the Monroe College women's volleyball team responded with a pair of victories on Friday at the CSI Arena. The Mustangs took down Casper College in three sets, and followed with a four-set win over Northwest College. The Mustangs improve to 2-1 on the season with Friday's conquests.
MATCH 1: Monroe 3, Casper 0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-20)
The Mustangs trailed early in the first set, 10-9. Monroe won the next five points to take a 14-10 lead, but Casper turned it around to tie things up at 15-15. The Mustangs turned the tables right back around, scoring six straight to take a comfortable 21-15 advantage, and traded points the rest of the way to capture the first set, 25-18.
Monroe kept rolling early in the second frame, running out to a commanding 16-2 edge. The Thunderbirds managed to reach double figures in the game, but the Mustangs ran away with a 25-11 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set saw Casper get back on track, matching the Mustangs at 16-16 later in the frame. The Mustangs then strung together eight straight points to grab a 24-16 lead, and after the Thunderbirds pulled together four straight, Monroe closed out the match to secure its first win of the season.
Karla Figueroa collected a match-high nine kills, while
Maria Camila Salazar followed with eight.
Nashally Eleutiza led with 14 digs, while
Alexis Baer passed out 13 assists and picked up seven digs.
Marissa Hackett made an impressive eight total blocks.
MATCH 2: Monroe 3, Northwest 1 (25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 26-24)
The Mustangs got the quick advantage in their second match of the day, running out to a 22-13 lead late in the first set. The Trappers took seven of the final 10 points in the game, but the Mustangs held on for the 25-20 win.
The second set appeared to start the same way as the first, as Monroe ran out to an 8-2 advantage. Northwest managed to close the gap, getting within two at 21-19 late in the set. The Mustangs were able to close it out shortly after, winning 25-20 once again for a two-game lead in the match.
The Thunderbirds turned things around and led for the entire third set, forcing a fourth set. The fourth frame went back-and-forth until Northwest began to break away with a 23-19 lead, and held set point at 24-20. An attack error kept the game going, and then
Daline Rios served up back-to-back aces to draw within a point. Another error by Northwest tied the set, and then a kill by
Brianna Chin gave the Mustangs match point. A block by Chin then emphatically closed out the match, giving the Mustangs a 26-24 win.
Figueroa and
Keyshla Laureano Perez matched for an afternoon-best 14 kills and combined for five total blocks. Eleutiza scooped up 31 digs, while Baer passed out 20 assists.
Daline Rios also had 15 assists and a pair of aces.
The Mustangs finish up their weekend in Twin Falls, Idaho on Saturday, Sept. 9, with a pair of challenging contests. They open with a match against No. 10 Snow College at 1 p.m. EST, and finish the weekend in a 3 p.m. matchup with No. 4 Salt Lake Community College.
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).
