HUTCHINSON, Kan., November 18, 2021 – Despite giving the Buccaneers a tough battle, the No. 13-seeded Monroe College Mustangs women's volleyball team lost a three-set match to No. 4-seeded Florida Southwestern State College on Thursday in the first round of the 2021 NJCAA Div. I Women's Volleyball Championship tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. The Buccaneers advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament with the win, while the Mustangs are eliminated from title contention.
 
Despite Thursday's result, Monroe will continue play at the NJCAA Championships on Friday. They are now set to take on No. 12 Central Wyoming College, which lost its first-round match to No. 5 Missouri State-West Plains. Missouri State-West Plains and Florida Southwestern State will now meet later Thursday evening in a quarterfinal match.
 
Thursday's match got off to a very even start. Though the Bucs jumped out to a 6-2 lead, Monroe came right back to tie it up at 7-7. The Mustangs scored four in a row to take an 11-8 edge, but Florida Southwestern came right back with three more to reach a tie once again. The neck-and-neck play continued late in the set, with the Mustangs going up, 22-21, but the Bucs were able to put together four straight points to come back and win, 25-22, to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
That late-game momentum carried into the second set for the Bucs, who rolled to a 9-3 lead that soon became 13-5. A six-point run pushed Florida Southwestern's lead to 22-8, before the mustangs took 4-of-5 to make it a 23-12 game. The Mustangs were able to get back within nine, but the Bucs came away with a 25-15 win to go up, 2-0.
 
The third set got back to being close like the opening frame. Monroe was within two at 12-10, but the Bucs then went on a 7-0 run to take a 19-10 advantage. Still, the Mustangs fought back, scoring 7-of-9 to make it a 22-17 game. Monroe got within three at 23-20, and again at 24-21, but unfortunately could not get closer, falling 25-21, to drop a 3-0 final.
 
Alisha Callender, as she tends to do, did plenty of everything in the match. She registered six kills, 10 assists, 12 digs, three blocks and two aces.  Alondra Ramos led the team with eight kills in the match, adding three blocks of her own. Lyanis Rios dished out a team-high 11 assists and added two aces. Laura Paniagua picked up 13 digs and handed out seven assists. Tereza Strnadlova and Leanisse Solano each served up another two aces apiece. Valeria Trinidad had a team-high four blocks to go with three kills and two digs. Masoomeh Angooti hit a team-best .375 with four kills, as well as seven digs and a block.
 
The Mustangs will look to keep playing tomorrow, Nov. 19, as they begin consolation bracket play in an effort to earn a ninth-place finish. They begin the day with a 1 p.m. EST match against No. 12 Central Wyoming. Should the Mustangs be victorious, they will play the winner of No. 9 Polk State College vs. No. 16 Hill College at 5:30 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 39 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, the Monroe College marching band, and the newly added esports and men's volleyball programs, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 18 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 Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).