FORT MYERS, Fla., November 6, 2023 – The 2023 NJCAA Atlantic District B Championship match became an emotional, dramatic and highly contested matchup that needed a second day to decide a winner, but ultimately, No. 3-ranked Miami Dade College held of the Monroe College Mustangs women's volleyball team in a tight four-set match to claim the district's automatic qualifier into the 2023 NJCAA Div. I Women's Volleyball Championship.
The match that began Sunday afternoon at Florida Southwestern State College's Suncoast Credit Union Arena was a back-and-forth battle that could have gone either way. The Sharks were leading the Mustangs, 2-1, but the two teams were knotted up at 15-15 in the fourth frame when a medical emergency forced the match to be suspended. The match then picked up Monday afternoon, seeing the Sharks narrowly defeat the Mustangs in that fourth set, 25-23. Monroe College expresses and incredible amount of gratitude to the staff and teams at Florida Southwestern and Miami Dade for all of their help, professionalism and graciousness during the events that occurred Sunday and Monday.
The opening set on Sunday saw the Sharks take a commanding 9-1 lead from the jump. The Mustangs worked their way back in it with a 5-1 run that made it a 10-6 score. Miami Dade pulled away again when three straight points gave the Sharks an 18-9 advantage. Monroe put together four straight points late in the set to make it a 23-17 game, but the Sharks notched the final two points to take a 25-17 win to start the afternoon.
The Mustangs took a quick 5-1 advantage over the Sharks in the next set. An 8-3 lead soon narrowed to a point after four straight by the Sharks, but the Mustangs managed to hold off their opponents over and over to maintain a narrow lead. The Mustangs looked to be pulling away when a three-point run had them up, 20-16, but Miami Dade rattled off four in a row to tie the game. Monroe rebounded with the next three points, but Miami Dade picked up two more to keep it tight.
Manon Braunsteffer then came up clutch with a kill to force set point, and she then blocked an attack alongside
Martina Villani to earn a 25-22 win and tie up the match.
The Sharks tallied the first four points of the third set, but the Mustangs scored the next three to keep it from getting away. The Sharks put four straight together shortly after to go up, 10-4. Monroe soon fell into a big hole at 20-9, but the Mustangs kept on fighting, taking 8-of-9 points to make it a 21-17 score. The Sharks reached set point at 24-18, but the Mustangs continued to battle, scoring the next three points before the Sharks could close it out with a 25-21 win and go up, 2-1.
The fourth frame got off to a back-and-forth start, but the Mustangs went on a 5-1 run to take a 9-6 advantage. Miami Dade then responded by taking 4-of-5 to tie the game at 10-10. The Mustangs went up by two at 14-12 before the Sharks took 3-of-4, including a block that tied the match at 15-15 when the match ended up being halted for the day.
When things picked up again Monday afternoon, the Sharks scored three straight points, but the Mustangs fired back with four to jump ahead. The Sharks then picked up 5-of-6, taking a 23-20 lead over Monroe. The Mustangs did not go down easy, scoring three of the next four points to make it a one-point game while staring down Miami Dade's match point, but a kill by the Sharks' Ana Tevdoradze put an end to the match, 25-23.
Gabriela Aimi Zuquelo turned in a double-double in the Atlantic District B Championship, totaling 15 kills and 10 digs to go with a pair of aces and a block. Braunsteffer led the team with 16 and three blocks in the match.
Darlenys Olivo had nine kills and 14 digs to go with two aces and a block.
Izabela Wos hit .556 with six kills, five digs and a block.
Rebecca Rosculet contributed four kills with seven digs, a pair of blocks and a pair of assists.
Villani led the team with 28 assists in the match, adding three blocks as well.
Francesca Andreon handed out 13 assists to go with seven digs and an ace.
Alessia Gallo picked up a team-high 29 digs.
The Mustangs head home from the District Championship match in Florida with a 21-11 overall record on the season. The Mustangs reached the District Championship after winning the Region 10 Championship Tournament last week in Spartanburg, S.C. Miami Dade and No. 1 Florida Southwestern State College left the Atlantic District Championships with the district's two automatic qualifiers.
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).
