DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., August 24, 2022 – The Monroe College Mustangs women's volleyball team faced a tough challenge on its first day in Florida, falling in four sets to Eastern Florida State College before a three-set defeat at the hands of Daytona State College, with both matches being played at Daytona State's L. Gale Lemerand Health, Wellness and Community Education Center. The Mustangs fall to 4-2 on the season with the losses.
MATCH 1: Eastern Florida State 3, Monroe 1 (30-28, 19-25, 25-20, 25-20)
The opening set was as competitive as it gets between the Mustangs and Titans on Wednesday. The Mustangs controlled early on with an 8-4 lead, but the Titans quickly closed the gap at 9-9. The Titans later jumped into the lead and led by as many as six points at 22-16, putting the Mustangs on their heels. Facing set point at 24-20, the Mustangs dug deep and fought back with five straight points to take a 25-24 lead. The set was tied up five different times down the stretch, but the Titans managed to get the two in a row they needed at the end to win a 30-28 game and go up, 1-0.
Set 2 was neck-and-neck again to start, but the Mustangs soon turned an 11-11 stalemate into a 16-11 advantage. After going up by seven, the Mustangs saw their lead dwindle with four straight points by the Titans. A kill by
Rebecca Jackson, followed by a pair of aces by
Alessia Gallo, swung the momentum back in the Mustangs' direction, helping them close out the second set with a 25-19 win to tie up the match.
The match turned the other way again in the third frame. The Titans took a 5-4 lead early on and never yielded it, though the Mustangs never fell behind by more than four points until the very end, when the Titans closed out the set with a 25-20 win to go up, 2-1.
The fourth game of the match was tight once again, as neither team could pull away early, reaching a 15-15 tie. After Monroe went up by a point, the Titans rattled off five straight to take the largest lead of the set at 21-16. The Mustangs took the next two to make it a three-point game, but Eastern Florida State responded with two right back, and managed to hold off the Mustangs from there for a 25-20 win to take the set and the match.
Yaliancis Flores registered her first double-double of the season with 13 kills and 10 digs to go with a pair of blocks in the match.
Leanisse Solano added 10 kills, seven digs and three aces.
Manon Braunsteffer had seven kills and five blocks against the Titans.
Francesca Andreon finished with 28 assists and eight digs.
Laura Paniagua led the team with 13 digs.
MATCH 2: Daytona State 3, Monroe 0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-19)
The Mustangs were challenged by the home team in their second match of the day. The Falcons got off to a 9-1 lead in the opening set. The Mustangs made a strong effort to battle back, with a late 6-1 run getting them within a point at 20-19, but Daytona State went on to pick up 5-of-6 to grab a 25-20 win and a 1-0 lead.
The second frame was close midway through, with the Mustangs down by just a point at 13-12. Four straight by the Falcons gave them a five-point edge, but Monroe later came back again to make it a 19-18 score. A five-point run for the home team made it a 24-18 lead, which proved to be too much to overcome, as the Falcons grabbed a 25-19 win to go up, 2-0.
Both teams traded points to open the third game, leading to an early 5-5 deadlock, but the Falcons quickly took the momentum to take a 15-6 advantage. Monroe stormed back to win 10-of-13 to get within three at 19-16, but that was as close as the Mustangs could get, as Daytona State held on to win, 25-19.
Solano and Braunsteffer each had nine kills in the match, with Solano adding eight digs. Flores had eight kills and eight digs. Andreon dished out 29 assists with 10 digs for her first double-double of the season. Paniagua led the team with 11 digs.
The Mustangs will look to bounce back tomorrow, Aug. 25, with a match against Coastal Alabama Community College on Daytona State's home court. The match is set for a 1 p.m. start.
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).
