TWIN FALLS, Idaho, September 8, 2022 – Riding a nine-match winning streak heading into its trip to Idaho, the No. 20-ranked Monroe College Mustangs women's volleyball team shouldered its first loss in over two weeks on Thursday, dropping a four-set match to host College of Southern Idaho (CSI) on the first night of CSI's Starr Corporation Invite. Monroe drops to 13-3 overall with the loss, while the Golden Eagles improve to 7-1.
The Mustangs and Golden Eagles got off to a hotly contested start, reaching a 10-10 tie to open the first set of the night. Monroe then scored 6-of-7 to take a 16-11 edge. The Mustangs were able to keep their distance from their hosts, scoring six of the final eight points of the frame to earn a 25-16 victory and go up, 1-0.
The Mustangs fell into a deep hole in the second set, as Southern Idaho ran out to a 19-8 advantage. Monroe did not go down easy in the game, battling back with an 8-2 run to get within five at 21-16. After a point by the Golden Eagles, the Mustangs scored another four straight, making it a two-point game at 22-20. However, the home team was able to regroup, hanging on to score the final three points and tie the match up with a 25-20 win.
The third stanza looked much like the first with an even 9-9 start. Unlike the opening set, it was the Golden Eagles that gained the momentum, taking a 16-11 lead before holding off the Mustangs for a 25-17 win to take a 2-1 lead on the night.
Monroe refused to go down without a fight on their opponents' home court. An even start to the fourth frame later turned in Monroe's favor, going from a 9-8 deficit to a 17-13 advantage. The Golden Eagles kept themselves within striking distance, cutting the Mustangs' lead to 20-19. The Mustangs picked up the next two to go back up by three, later reaching set point at 24-21, but the home team was resilient, not only fending off set point to tie it up at 24-24, but making it five straight to earn a 26-24 comeback victory to take a 3-1 win over the Mustangs.
Leanisse Solano had a season-high 16 kills in the match, adding 12 digs for her third double-double of the season.
Yaliancis Flores just missed a double-double with 13 kills and nine digs.
Francesca Andreon passed around 31 assists and picked up nine digs of her own. She also had three blocks in the match, tying
Izabela Wos for second on the team behind
Manon Braunsteffer's four.
Laura Paniagua led the team with 16 digs on the night.
The Mustangs hard arguably the most challenging day of the regular season on tap on Friday, Sept. 8. They will play three times on the day, taking on Western Wyoming Community College at 3 p.m. EST, followed by No. 12-ranked Missouri State University-West Plains at 7 p.m. EST, before closing out the night at 9:30 p.m. EST against No. 2 Snow 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).
