NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., August 19, 2022 – An exciting day at the Monroe Athletic Complex saw the Monroe College Mustangs women's volleyball team get its season off to a 2-0 start on Friday, as the Mustangs hosted Day 1 of the Monroe Preseason Invitational. Monroe defeated Raritan Valley Community College in the day's opening match in three sets, and then closed out the day with a thrilling three-set win over St. Johns River State College.
MATCH 1: Monroe 3, Raritan Valley 0 (25-8, 25-8, 25-13)
The Mustangs came out firing in their first set of the season, rattling off 10 straight points before the Lions could get on the board. Raritan scored 5-of-6 before Monroe went on another run, scoring nine of the next 10 points to take a 20-6 advantage. The Mustangs never wavered in their momentum, wrapping up the opening frame with a 25-8 win.
It was a bit of a slower start for Monroe in the second stanza, but a 2-2 tie quickly became an 8-3 edge for the home team. After the Lions got back within three, Monroe scored 9-of-10 to go up, 17-6. After a point for Raritan Valley, the Mustangs picked up eight of the final nine points to take a 2-0 lead with another 25-8 victory.
It was close early on again in the third game, with Monroe holding a 9-6 lead. The Mustangs then scored the next seven points to take a 10-point advantage. The Lions kept fighting and went nearly point-for-point with the Mustangs until Monroe tallied the last five points of the match to earn the sweep with a 25-8 win.
The Mustangs hit at a .322 clip in the win, while holding Raritan Valley to a -.023 hitting percentage.
Yaliancis Flores led Monroe with 10 kills while adding four aces and eight digs.
Rebecca Jackson and
Gabriela Aimi Zuquelo matched with eight kills, while Aimi Zuquelo picked up nine digs.
Francesca Andreon dished out a team-high 20 assists, while
Maja Diop passed out 14.
Laura Paniagua totaled 17 digs in the win, while
Alessia Gallo scooped up 12 to go with six service aces.
MATCH 2: Monroe 3, St. Johns River State 0 (28-26, 25-14, 25-20)
Friday's finale got off to a very competitive start, seeing both teams knotted up at 6-6 early in the opening frame. The Mustangs then took the momentum, scoring 4-of-5 to force the Vikings to take a timeout with Monroe up, 11-7. The Mustangs managed to keep their distance for a bit, but the Vikings pushed back to tie it up at 16-16. The Mustangs continued to hold off the visitors, going up, 22-19, but the Vikings forced Monroe to call a timeout after two straight points, making it a 22-21 score. The timeout proved worthwhile for St. Johns River, as the Vikings managed to jump ahead, 24-23, to force Monroe to use its second timeout. The Mustangs fended off two set points to tie at 25-25. After the score was tied again at 26-26, kills by
Leanisse Solano and Flores put the nail in the coffin for a hard-fought 28-26 win to take a 1-0 lead.
The first-set win put a charge in the Mustangs heading into the second frame. They jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead, eventually turning that into an 11-5 edge. The Vikings got back within four at 15-11, but the Mustangs put the next five points on the board for a nine-point advantage. They went up by 10 at 23-13 before closing out the set with a commanding 25-14 win to go up, 2-0.
The Mustangs looked to have another dominant set to close out the match, going up 5-1 early on. The Vikings got back within two at 6-4, but the Mustangs picked up 4-of-5 to force a Viking timeout at 10-5. Monroe went up, 14-7, before the Vikings scored four straight to make it close. The Mustangs then turned it back around with 4-of-5 to go up, 18-12. The Vikings managed to stay in it, getting back within four late at 23-19. The two teams traded the final three points of the match, seeing Monroe claim a 25-20 win to sweep the day.
Flores led the way once again with a match-high 13 kills, adding eight digs to a stellar day.
Vanja Stefanovic totaled 11 kills, six digs and three aces. Solano just missed a double-double with nine kills and 11 digs. Andreon dished out an astonishing 38 assists in three sets, adding nine digs and five kills. Paniagua led the team with 21 digs in the win.
The Mustangs will look to make it a perfect opening weekend on Saturday, Aug. 20, with Day 2 of the Monroe Preseason Invitational at the Monroe Athletic Complex. Monroe opens the day against Nassau Community College at 9 a.m., and then closes out the tournament at 5 p.m. against Frederick Community College.
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).
