BOAZ, Ala., November 3, 2019 – For the second straight year, the Monroe College Mustangs women's volleyball team had to battle through Alabama to get to the NJCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. For the second straight year, the Mustangs succeeded in that task, earning the District B Title at the Gulf Atlantic District A/B Championship at Snead State Community College to earn an automatic bid to the 2019 NJCAA National Tournament.
 
After going 1-1 on the opening day of the tournament on Friday, the Mustangs rolled through the loser's bracket with back-to-back wins in elimination matches on Saturday to reach Sunday as one of the final three teams standing. With the tournament runner-up earning the District B Title, the Mustangs needed to win just their first match on Sunday to qualify for nationals. Monroe fell behind after dropping the first set to Lawson State Community College in the morning's first match, but took three straight sets after that to defeat the Lions and punch their ticket.
 
The day did not end there for Monroe, as the District A Championship was still up for grabs. Gadsden State Community College had not lost yet at the Gulf Atlantic District Championship, meaning the Mustangs needed to beat the Cardinals twice to claim District A's automatic bid. The Mustangs came out on fire and rolled to a three-set victory in their second match of the day, pushing the tournament to its 11th match to decide a champion. Playing their third match of the day, the Mustangs gave the Cardinals everything they could handle, but ultimately could not finish a remarkable run with a highly competitive five set defeat to Gadsden State.
 
MATCH 1: #3 MONROE 3, #5 LAWSON STATE 1 (24-26, 25-16, 25-21, 25-22)
The Mustangs fell behind in the opening set against the Cougars, 7-3, before scoring four in a row to tie it up. Lawson State then went on a big run, scoring seven straight for a 14-7 advantage. The Cougars were able to take an 18-10 lead, but the Mustangs then went on a 9-2 run to get back within a point at 20-19. The Cougars earned set point shortly after by taking a 24-20 lead, but the Mustangs battled back to tie it up at 24-24. Lawson State was then able to get two points in a row, claiming the first set, 26-24, to go up, 1-0.
 
The Mustangs carried their late momentum into the second set, going up, 5-1. They pushed their lead to 14-7, but the Cougars were able to cut the deficit down to three at 17-14. Monroe then rattled off six straight points to take a nine-point advantage. It did not get any closer from there, as the Mustangs closed it out with a 25-16 win to tie the match.
 
Both teams played even early in the third stanza, reaching a 13-13 stalemate. The Mustangs then went on a 6-1 run to take a 19-14 edge. Three straight for the Cougars got them back within two, and they were still within a pair late with the Mustangs up, 23-21. Monroe then got back-to-back kills by Zassmine Birdwell and Giulia La Longa closed out the set to give Monroe a 25-21 win and a 2-1 lead.
 
Lawson State was in control to start the fourth frame, going up, 12-8, nearly midway through. Four straight points by the Mustangs tied things up at 12-12. The Cougars had an 18-16 lead, but the Mustangs went on a five-point run to take a 21-18 lead.  The Mustangs led, 22-19, but two straight by the Cougars forced Monroe to use a timeout and regroup. The break helped the Mustangs regain control, and they closed things out shortly after by taking 3-of-4 for a 25-22 win and a 3-1 win in the match. The Mustangs earned at least the District B Title with the win.
 
Masoomeh Angooti had a big match, leading the team with 15 kills and added 24 digs, two aces and a block. Alondra Garcia also had a double-double with 30 assists and 10 digs. Alondra Ramos made it three Mustangs with double-doubles in the win, registering 11 kills with 19 digs. La Longa threw down 13 kills and had a pair of blocks. Chiara Mottola had seven kills and nine digs, while Birdwell matched her seven kills and had a team-high four blocks. Melanie Orsini picked up 31 digs to lead the team.
 
MATCH 2: #3 MONROE 3, #2 GADSDEN STATE 0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-22)
The Mustangs were clearly riding high from their previous win that earned their spot in the national tournament, as the Mustangs took an early 12-8 lead on the Cardinals, who were yet to lose at the Gulf Atlantic District Championship. The Cardinals made a quick run to tie up the opening set, but the Mustangs followed by taking 4-of-5 to go up, 16-13. The Cardinals kept it close until the Mustangs pulled away with a 24-18 lead, eventually closing it out with a 25-21 win to go up, 1-0.
 
The momentum kept up for the Mustangs in the second stanza, as they jumped out to a 12-6 advantage. It was all Mustangs, as they pushed their lead to nine points at 22-13 before ultimately pulling off a 10-point victory at 25-15 to go up, 2-0.
 
The Cardinals played even with the Mustangs early in the third game, reaching a 7-7 tie early on. The Mustangs then began to pull away with a six-point run go to up, 13-7. The Cardinals chipped away to get within two at 16-14, but the Mustangs quickly pushed the lead back to six to go up, 21-15. Gadsden State got back within two late in the set at 22-20, and later made it a one-point game at 23-22, but the Mustangs finished things off from there with the final two points for a 3-0 win, forcing one more match to decide the Gulf Atlantic A District Championship.
 
La Longa led the Mustangs with 10 kills, while Angooti and Birdwell each added nine apiece. Angooti added 10 digs in the win as well, but Orsini led the team by picking up 22 digs in the win. Orsini also led the way with three service aces. Garcia dished out 21 assists and served up two aces, while Gonzalez handed out 16 assists. Julia Alves led Monroe with two blocks, adding two aces, four digs and three kills.
 
MATCH 3: #2 GADSDEN STATE 3, #3 MONROE 2 (26-24, 11-25, 25-19, 15-25, 15-12)
Playing their third match of the day, the Mustangs used whatever gas was left in them to push the Cardinals to their limit in the Gulf Atlantic District Championship Match. They fell behind, 12-8, in the first set, and eventually fell into an 18-11 hole. Down 20-14, Monroe made up the difference and then some with eight straight points, taking a 22-20 lead, and shortly after, a 24-22 edge. The Cardinals then took advantage of three straight attack errors by the Mustangs and got one final kill to pick up four straight points and win the opening set, 26-24.
 
After a frustrating finish to the opening game, the Mustangs came out with a new determination in the second set, charging out to an 8-3 lead, and pushing it to 11-4 shortly after. Gadsden State managed two straight points after that, but the Mustangs fired right back with an 8-0 run for a commanding 19-6 advantage. The Cardinals were able to muster up a few more points the rest of the set, but the Mustangs picked up a dominant 25-11 win to tie the match.
 
The Mustangs took a quick 5-3 lead in the third set, but the Cardinals grabbed an 11-8 lead shortly after. Gadsden State was up, 16-10, but the Mustangs then took 6-of-7 to get within a point. Monroe was still within one at 19-18 before five straight points by the Cardinals gave them set point. Gadsden State went on to win, 25-19, to take a 2-1 edge.
 
After some early back-and-forth, the Mustangs were able to gain an 11-6 advantage on the Cardinals in the fourth frame. The Mustangs later went on a 5-1 run to double up the Cardinals, 16-8. Four straight by the Cardinals put them back in it at 16-12, but the Mustangs later used a four-point run of their own to take a 22-14 lead. The Mustangs took the final three points of the set to claim a 25-15 win and force the deciding fifth set.
 
The fifth set was incredibly even early on with four lead changes before Monroe took an 8-7 lead. After switching sides of the court, Gadsden State took four straight points to go up, 11-8. The Cardinals later managed to go up, 13-9, before the Mustangs took the next two to get within a pair. The next three points went back-and-forth, but the Cardinals managed to pull it out with a 15-12 win to take the match in five and win the District A Title.
 
La Longa finished with a team-high 19 kills and added four blocks in the match. Alondra Ramos threw down 17 kills and had seven digs, while Birdwell added 12 kills. Mottola led the team with five total blocks, adding 12 digs as well. Gonzalez and Garcia were nearly even in assists with 28 and 27, respectively. Orsini led the team with 32 digs. Angooti finished with 16 digs and six kills.
 
2019 will be the fourth straight season the Mustangs head to Hutchinson, Kan., for the NJCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. The Mustangs will represent District B this year at the national tournament, which will take place at the Hutchinson Sports Arena from Nov. 21-23. The tournament bracket will be announced shortly.
 
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).