HANCEVILLE, Ala., November 6, 2021 – Clinching its spot at the 2021 NJCAA Div. I Women's Volleyball Championships was not enough for the No. 20-ranked Monroe College Mustangs women's volleyball team, as the Mustangs made history on Saturday. Monroe defeated No. 12-ranked, and No. 1-seeded Wallace State Community College in straight sets, finishing a perfect 3-0 at the Gulf Atlantic District A/B Championships to take home the District A Championship for the first time. As the tournament runner-up, Wallace State claims the District B Title, and will join the Mustangs in Hutchinson, Kan., for the national tournament.
 
The Mustangs had a truly impressive performance at this year's Gulf Atlantic District Championships, not settling for the runner-up prize in their third trip to Alabama. With three straight wins, the Mustangs leave the weekend as the top team in the district, warranting higher seeding at the national tournament.
 
Leanisse Solano was named the District Tournament Most Valuable Player after an excellent three matches for the freshman. Joining her on the All-Tournament Team are Laura Paniagua, Lyanis Rios and Yaliancis Flores.
 
Wallace State earned its spot at the national tournament by defeating Snead State Community College earlier in the day, eliminating the Parsons from the tournament.
 
After a back-and-forth start to the first set, the Mustangs scored six straight points to go up, 9-3. Shortly after, a 10-1 run by Monroe gave the Mustangs a 22-8 advantage, leading to a 25-9 victory to go up, 1-0.
 
The Mustangs had a dominant start to the second frame, rolling to a 13-3 lead. The Mustangs never wavered in the second set, rolling to a 25-15 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Mustangs appeared to be rolling once again in the third game, taking a quick 8-3 advantage. The home team managed to pull even at 11-11, but the Mustangs responded by taking 7-of-8 to go up, 18-12. Now trailing 22-14, the Lions scored five straight to get within striking distance of Monroe, later getting within a point at 23-22. A kill by Flores gave Monroe match point, but Wallace State's Madison Raybon kept it going with a kill of her own. Tournament MVP Solano then put the finishing touches on the weekend with one final kill for a 25-23 win and a clean sweep of Wallace State.
 
The Mustangs impressively hit .314 in the win over the NJCAA's 12th-ranked team. Flores threw down 15 kills in the win to go with her six digs and a block. Solano added 14 kills and 10 digs for a double-double, hitting an outstanding .480. Solano added four aces and three assists. Callender continued her do-it-all ways with 11 kills, 14 assists, five digs, an ace and a block. Rios handed out 26 assists and served up a pair of aces. Paniagua led the team with 22 digs and added four assists and two aces of her own.
 
The Mustangs now await the NJCAA Volleyball Bracket Release, which will take place on Thursday, Nov. 11, via the NJCAA website and @NJCAAVolleyball on Twitter. We will have full coverage and updates on MonroeCollegeMustangs.com and all of the Monroe Mustangs social media accounts.
 
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).