BRADENTON, Fla., October 18, 2019 – The Monroe College Mustangs women's volleyball team opened up a four-match weekend down in Florida on Friday with a four-set victory at State College of Florida to run the Mustangs' winning streak to 14 straight matches. The Mustangs improve to 18-8 overall with the win, while the Manatees drop to 2-20.
 
The Mustangs fell into an early 4-2 hole in Friday's opening set, but seven straight points put them on top, 9-4. The Mustangs' five-point lead fell to one at 12-11, but they were able to maintain control, later going up, 20-14. A 6-1 run for the home team once again made it a one-point game at 21-20, but three straight for Monroe gave the Mustangs set point. The Manatees got one more point to keep the game going, but the Mustangs did not let it get any closer, grabbing a 25-21 win to go up, 1-0.
 
A four-point run by the Manatees early in the second set put the home team up, 6-3. Shortly after, Monroe went on a five-point run to take a 10-7 lead, but the Manatees responded immediately with six straight points to go back up, 13-10. After the Manatees took a 20-16 edge, Monroe found a rhythm and rattled off six straight points to take a 22-20 lead. The Manatees then tied it up at 22, and the two teams went on to trade points back and forth, surpassing 25 points each. After the set was tied up at 26-26, Masoomeh Angooti took care of business, picking up the 27th point with a kill, followed by a service ace to grab a 28-26 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The third set started much like the second, seeing the Manatees take a 12-7 advantage early on. Three straight points later on had the Mustangs back within two at 14-12, but the home team responded with three of its own. Monroe once again got back within two at 19-17, but that was as close as the Mustangs could get, falling in the third stanza, 25-21, and keeping the match going.
 
Monroe jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead in the fourth frame. The Manatees later scored 4-of-5 to get within one at 12-11, but three in a row by Monroe put the Mustangs back up by four. The margin was back to two points shortly after, with the Mustangs lead, 18-16, but another three-point run by Monroe had the visitors ahead, 21-16, looking to close out the night. After two points by the Manatees made it a 22-19 score, the Mustangs picked up the final three points to wrap up the match with a 25-19 victory.
 
Chiara Mottola had a big match, picking up 10 kills, six blocks and five digs to help lead Monroe to victory. Giulia La Longa led the team with 13 kills and added two blocks. Alondra Ramos and Zassmine Birdwell each threw down nine kills, while Ramos added 12 digs and four blocks. Angooti finished with eight kills and 16 digs. Alondra Garcia passed out 29 assists, while Yarianne Gonzalez registered 23. Melanie Orsini led the team with 26 digs.
 
The Mustangs will play twice on Saturday, traveling to two different colleges to play a pair of ranked opponents. First, Monroe visits NO. 13 College of Central Florida in Ocala, Fla., for an 11 a.m. match. They will then travel to Tampa, Fla., where they will face off with No. 14 Hillsborough Community College at 6 p.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).