COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa, October 21, 2023 – Saturday's final match for the Monroe College Mustangs women's volleyball team at the Dennis South Memorial Tournament was about as tight of a three-set match as you will see, as the Mustangs dropped a close contest to host Iowa Western Community College at the Reiver Arena. The Mustangs fall to 18-10 with the loss, while the Reivers improve 14-18.
Saturday's opening set saw the Mustangs and Reivers go toe-to-toe, with neither team being able to pull away from the other until the very end of the game. Iowa Western was able to go up, 14-11, but the Mustangs soon closed the gap at 15-15. The Reivers were up one before scoring 3-of-4 to make it a 22-19 score. The Mustangs got one more point, but the home team scored the final three to take a 25-20 win.
The Reivers took a big lead in the second stanza, going up 15-7 on the Mustangs. Monroe slowly chipped away at the deficit, getting back within three at 19-16. Monroe then used a five-point run to jump into the lead, 21-20. A timeout halted Monroe's momentum, though, seeing the Reivers score 5-of-6 to pick up a 25-22 win and go up two sets to none.
The Mustangs took the big lead early in the third frame when they went up, 10-4. 4-of-5 for the Reivers cut Monroe's lead to 11-8. The Mustangs then scored four straight to expand the lead to 15-8. Iowa Western closed the game with a five-point run to make it an 18-18 score. The Reivers then jumped ahead and reached match point at 24-22, but the Mustangs picked up three in a row to take a 25-24 edge. The teams went back-and-forth, with the Reivers leading, 26-25, and Monroe later going up, 29-28. The Reivers then scored the final three points of the day, wrapping up the match with a narrow 31-29 win.
Darlenys Olivo finished out a strong weekend with 12 kills, six digs, two blocks and two aces.
Manon Braunsteffer did as well, hitting .538 with eight kills and two blocks, as well as three digs.
Gabriela Aimi Zuquelo totaled eight kills, six digs, an ace and a block.
Martina Villani handed out 24 assists, adding four kills and two blocks.
Alessia Gallo led the team with nine digs, contributing two assists and an ace as well.
The regular season concluded for Monroe with Saturday's match in Iowa. The Mustangs will compete next on Friday, Oct. 27, with the quarterfinal round of the Region 10 Championship Tournament in Spartanburg, S.C. The tournament schedule will be announced this coming week.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 20 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven 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 (
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