NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., October 11, 2019 – Make it nine straight wins for the Monroe College Mustangs women's volleyball team, as the Mustangs swept a pair of matches on Day 1 of the Monroe College Volleyball Invitational at the Monroe Athletic Complex on Friday. Monroe defeated Montgomery College-Rockville, 3-1, in their first match, then took down Grand Rapids Community College in three sets in the day's finale. Monroe improves to 13-8 overall with the pair of victories.
 
MATCH 1: MONROE 3, MONTGOMERY-ROCKVILLE 1 (24-26, 25-15, 25-18, 25-14)
The Mustangs and Raptors battled back and forth in the opening set. The game was tied up, 15-15, before Monroe went on a 5-1 run to go up by four and force the Raptors to take a timeout. The Mustangs led by as many as six and reached set point at 24-18, but two straight points by the visitors made the Mustangs use a timeout of their own. Another three points by the Raptors brought them back within one, forcing Monroe to take its second timeout. The momentum never ceded for the Raptors, who took another three points to finish up an eight-point run and win the set, 26-24.
 
The second stanza looked like it was heading down a similar path, as the two teams were tied up at 12-12. The Mustangs then took the next four points, and shortly after led, 17-14. The Mustangs then rattled off seven straight points to take a 24-14 advantage, but the Raptors kept it going with another point. The Mustangs made sure to halt the comeback before it could begin, taking the next point on a kill by Chiara Mottola to close out the set with a 25-15 win and tie the match up at 1-1.
 
The Mustangs jumped out to a 5-1 edge early in the third frame, but the Raptors quickly closed the gap and tied it up at 6-6. The Mustangs were able to regain control, but could not break away until the very end of the set when they scored five straight points to pick up a 25-18 win and go up, 2-1.
 
Monroe finally found the rhythm it was looking for in the fourth frame, quickly taking a 6-0 lead and rolling to a 12-2 advantage. While the Raptors managed to chip away a little bit to get within eight at 20-12, but the Mustangs did not let off the pedal, picking up at 25-14 win to claim a 3-1 victory in their first match of the day.
 
Giulia La Longa paced the Mustangs with 17 kills, a new season-high for the sophomore. Alondra Ramos and Masoomeh Angooti both registered double-doubles in the win. Ramos finished with 13 kills and 18 digs, while Angooti had a season-high 10 kills and 13 digs. Melanie Orsini led the team with 34 digs, also a season-high for the freshman libero. Alondra Garcia dished out 35 assists, while Yarianne Gonzalez passed out 16. Garcia also had six aces and six digs in the win.
 
MATCH 2: MONROE 3, GRAND RAPIDS 0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-23)
The opening set was close early on, reaching a 4-4 stalemate. The Mustangs then began to take control, going on a five-point run shortly after to take an 11-5 lead. The lead eventually grew to 11 points at 23-12 before Monroe closed it out with a 25-14 win.
 
The Mustangs jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second stanza, and kept their distance to later take a 10-5 edge. After some back-and-forth play, the Mustangs took a 15-10 lead, sparking a timeout for the Raiders. Monroe made it a 20-11 game shortly after, eventually trading points until reaching a 25-15 in favor of the Mustangs to give them a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Mustangs once again took a 5-1 lead to kick off the third set, but soon after, the Raiders went on a run to tie the game at 10-10. The Mustangs took an 11-10 lead, but three straight points by the Raiders put them ahead, 13-11. Monroe regained control and took a 19-14 lead, going up 23-19 moments later to put the Raiders on their heels. Four straight points by Grand Rapids then tied the set at 23-23, but back-to-back kills by Birdwell and La Longa wrapped up the match with a 25-23 win.
 
La Longa led the Mustangs once again with 10 kills and four blocks in the win. Birdwell added eight kills and another four blocks, while Julia Alves contributed seven kills. Angooti had six kills and 11 digs. Orsini led the team with 19 digs, while Garcia dished out a team-high 23 assists.
 
The Mustangs have two more matches on Saturday, Oct. 12, in the final day of the Monroe College Volleyball Invitational. They will take on Richard Bland College at 10:30 a.m., followed later by a 2:30 p.m. match against Harford Community College. A five-match day at the Monroe Athletic Complex is set to begin at 8:30 a.m.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 31 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 12 teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
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).