ANNANDALE, Va., October 8, 2022 – The Monroe College Mustangs women's volleyball team is officially on another big winning streak, as the Mustangs defeated Bryant & Stratton College (Va.) and Northern Virginia Community College in three sets apiece on Saturday in a tri-match at Northern Virginia. The Mustangs improve to 21-6 overall with their sixth and seventh straight wins.
MATCH 1: Monroe 3, Bryant & Stratton 0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-7)
The Mustangs had a steady pace to open the first match of the day, going on their biggest run of the opening set on the final stretch, closing out the game on a 6-1 run to take a 1-0 lead. They then led big early on, running out to a 9-2 edge in the second set before the Bobcats eventually made it close at 19-15. The Mustangs then used a 6-2 stretch to wrap up the second stanza with a 25-17 win. The final frame was all Monroe, as a number of long point streaks led to a quick 25-7 win to cap off a 3-0 victory in the opening match.
Yaliancis Flores led Monroe with 11 kills in the win, adding three aces and four digs as well.
Leanisse Solano was right behind with 10 kills and an impressive .533 hitting percentage.
Maja Diop led with 13 assists, while
Francesca Andreon contributed 10 across two sets. Diop also tied with
Manon Braunsteffer with two blocks to lead the team.
Laura Paniagua picked up a team-high 14 digs in the win.
Gabriela Aimi Zuquelo served up a remarkable seven aces.
MATCH 2: Monroe 3, Northern Virginia 0 (25-17, 25-6, 25-18)
The Mustangs had control of the first set against the host Nighthawks, seeing their lead only drop to as few as four points, but later reaching as many as nine late in the set before picking up at 25-17 win. Monroe came out smoking hot in the second frame, scoring the first 10 points to take an insurmountable lead, resulting in a 25-6 win to go up, 2-0. The Nighthawks turned things around to take an early 7-1 advantage on Monroe early in the third set, but the Mustangs scored five straight to get right back in it, eventually making it 9-of-10 to take the lead. The game went back-and-forth until a 5-1 run for Monroe gave the Mustangs a 19-14 edge, giving Monroe enough space to pick up a 25-18 win for the sweep.
Solano took the kills lead in Match 2 with 12, adding two blocks and five digs. Solano hit .583 with seven kills, while finishing second on the team with 16 digs. Diop once again led the team with 19 assists, while Andreon handed out 15. Paniagua picked up 18 digs to lead the way, while also serving up three aces.
Rebecca Jackson had seven kills and three blocks in the win, while
Izabela Wos also had three blocks.
The Mustangs are on the road once again on Tuesday, Oct. 11, this time with a shorter trip over to Garden City, N.Y. to take on Nassau Community College. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 35 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well 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 11 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).
