SPARTANBURG, S.C., October 27, 2023 – The Mustangs are heading to the Region 10 Championship finals, as the No. 3-seeded Monroe College women's volleyball team defeated No. 6-seeded USC Salkehatchie in Friday's quarterfinal matchup in three sets, followed by a three-set victory over No. 2 USC Lancaster in the semifinals. By advancing to the Region 10 Finals, the Mustangs have earned an automatic bid to the Atlantic District Championship tournament, which will be held next Sunday, Nov. 5, down in Florida. Spartanburg Methodist College, which Monroe will take on in Saturday's Region 10 Championship, will be joining the Mustangs in Florida as well.
QUARTERFINAL: #3 Monroe 3, #6 USC Salkehatchie 0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-12)
The Mustangs and Indians went back-and-forth to open Friday's quarterfinal, with the Mustangs holding a narrow 8-7 lead early on. Monroe then scored four straight, and turned that into a 7-1 run to take a 15-8 edge over the Indians. Monroe went up, 20-12, before the Indians rattled off five straight points to narrow the gap at 20-17. The Mustangs halted the run with two straight points, scoring 5-of-6 down the stretch to close out the opening set, 25-18.
The Mustangs carried their momentum from the first set into the next, taking an immediate 7-0 lead over USC Salkehatchie. The Indians chipped away at the deficit to make it a 9-5 game, but the Mustangs turned things right back around with a 5-for-6 run to go up, 14-6. After trading points back-and-forth, the Mustangs scored five of the next six points to take a 22-11 advantage. The Indians responded with three in a row, but the Mustangs reciprocated that to wrap up the second stanza, 25-14, to go up two sets in the match.
The Mustangs quickly doubled up the Indians in the third frame with an early 10-5 edge. After going up, 12-5, the Indians scored three straight, but Monroe bounced back with six straight points to take an 18-8 advantage. The Indians picked up a pair before Monroe rattled off another six points to reach match point at 24-10. USC Salkehatchie fought to stay alive with two more points, but the Mustangs ended it on a kill by
Tara Rajkovic, sending the Mustangs to the semifinals with a three-set victory.
Darlenys Olivo led the Mustangs with eight kills, while
Manon Braunsteffer and
Gabriela Aimi Zuquelo were right behind with seven apiece. Olivo added a pair of aces, while Zuquelo led the team with seven digs. Monroe's setters,
Martina Villani and
Francesca Andreon both had strong efforts in the win, dishing out 16 and 15 assists, respectively. Andreon also led Monroe with four aces in the match.
Doriangelis Serrano Reynoso picked up six digs and served up a pair of aces.
Morelia Diaz had five digs and three aces, while
Alessia Gallo also had five digs to go with five assists and an ace of her own. Braunsteffer, Villani, Serrano Reynoso and
Izabela Wos each had a block in the match.
Monroe's quarterfinal victory set them up to take on the tournament's No. 2 seed, USC Lancaster, later in the day in the Region 10 Semifinals.
SEMIFINAL: #3 Monroe 3, #2 USC Lancaster 0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-18)
Already 1-0 on the day, the Mustangs kept rolling in their semifinal matchup with USC Lancaster on Friday. The Mustangs jumped ahead early on by a score of 10-5 over the Lancers in the first set. Later, a 6-1 run once again saw Monroe double-up the Lancers, 20-10. Four straight points later had the Mustangs at set point, but the Lancers scored four more points of their own before Monroe could close it out at 25-15 and take the first frame.
The Mustangs scored the first four points of the second stanza and later rolled to a 9-3 advantage. A big seven-point run for the Mustangs gave them a commanding 19-7 edge over the Lancers late in the game. Lancaster battled back, but the Lancers' run was ultimately not enough, as the Mustangs picked up a 25-14 win to go up, 2-0.
USC Lancaster took an early 3-1 lead in the third set, but the Mustangs turned things around with four straight points. The game remained tight until a 4-1 run by Monroe made it a 12-8 score, followed shortly after by Monroe's 5-1 stretch that made it a 17-10 game. The Mustangs once again scored 5-of-6 to go up, 23-14. The Lancers kept fighting and took four of the next five points, but Monroe got the final point they needed to wrap up the day with a 25-18 win.
Olivo produced a double-double in the semifinal victory with 14 kills and 10 digs. Zuquelo threw down 10 kills and picked up another six digs to go with a block. Braunsteffer led the team with three blocks to pair with her six kills. Serrano Reynoso also had six kills in the win, as well as five digs. Wos had five kills on six swings and a block.
Villani dished out 22 assists with four digs, two aces and a block in the match. Andreon added another 15 assists and a pair of kills. Gallo totaled eight digs, two assists and an ace, while Diaz contributed another six digs.
The Mustangs are now set to take on tournament host and top seed Spartanburg Methodist College on Saturday, Oct. 28, in the Region 10 Championship match. Saturday's final is set to begin at 1 p.m. Both Monroe and Spartanburg Methodist have now qualified for the Atlantic District Championship tournament, which will take place next Sunday, Nov. 5, in Fort Myers, Fla., at Florida Southwestern State College.
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 (
Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (
@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (
@monroemustangs).
