NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., January 25, 2023 – Playing for the first time in front of the home crowd at the Monroe Athletic Complex, the brand new Monroe College Mustangs men's volleyball team played tough against the No. 5-ranked team in NCAA Division III, Vassar College, but fell in three to the Brewers Wednesday evening. Due to a delayed NJCAA competitive-season start date, Wednesday's match officially counted as an exhibition for the Mustangs and does not affect the team's overall record.
After a back-and-forth start to the opening set, the Brewers jumped out to a 13-8 advantage on the Mustangs. Monroe kept battling, but Vassar held its momentum to win the opening set, 25-15.
The Brewers carried the momentum into the second game to take a quick 13-4 edge on the Mustangs. Monroe tried to battle back late, going on a 3-0 run to get within seven, but the deficit proved to be too much, seeing Vassar take a 25-14 win to go up, 2-0.
Vassar looked to be running away with the third frame after taking a 5-0 lead from the jump, and later going up, 12-6. The Mustangs battled back, taking 4-of-5 to get within three at 13-10. Vassar later went back up by six at 19-13, and held a comfortable 21-16 edge before the Mustangs tallied four straight points to make it a one-point game. Vassar then scored 3-of-4 to force match point, but the Mustangs stayed alive with two straight before a service error ended the final set with a score of 25-23 in favor of the visitors.
Joe Kieler threw down a team-high 10 kills in Wednesday's match, hitting at a .350 clip.
Joan Galmes was next with five kills.
Timothy Reyes dished out 20 assists in the match. Reyes,
Moises Jimenez,
Noah Liousfi and
Alex Nunez all had blocks in the match. Reyes, Jimenez and Galmes all matched with three digs apiece.
After a stiff challenge at the MAC on Wednesday, the Mustangs will look to build off of it in their first regular-season contest on Friday, Jan. 27, when they host the College of Mount Saint Vincent. Friday's 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).
