CANANDAIGUA, N.Y., February 11, 2023 – Taking to the road for the first time ever, the Monroe College Mustangs men's volleyball team passed the test, picking up a pair of three-set victories over Finger Lakes Community College and Clarkson University Club on Saturday in a tri-match at Finger Lakes. The Mustangs remain unbeaten and move to 8-0 on the year with the wins.
MATCH 1: Monroe 3, Finger Lakes 0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-20)
After the Mustangs and Lakers battled to a hard-fought four-set victory for the Mustangs last Saturday, Monroe and Finger Lakes got off to another competitive start this Saturday. Both teams were going back-and-forth early on, but the Lakers managed to grab a four-point lead on a few different occasions during the set. That lead pushed to five when the home team went up, 19-14, but the Mustangs refused to go down easy, scoring the next three points. After trailing 21-18, Monroe rattled of four straight points to snatch the lead away. Both teams ended up even at 24-24 before the Mustangs got a kill by
Joe Kieler, followed by an attack error by the Lakers to give the Mustangs a 26-24 win and a 1-0 lead.
The Mustangs looked to carry that momentum into the second stanza, taking a quick 4-1 edge, but the Lakers battled back to get within one at 8-7. The Mustangs scored the next four to go up by five, and later used another four-point run to take a 21-13 advantage. The Mustangs reached set point at 24-16, but the Lakers managed to get into a rhythm, scoring six straight points to get within two, but their run ended on a service error to give Monroe a 25-22 win and a two-set lead.
The third set was another battle between the Mustangs and Lakers. The Mustangs took the early edge, but were unable to pull away in the early goings of the game, leading by no more than three points through the midway point of the set. A 5-1 run then put the Mustangs up, 19-13, but the Lakers responded with four straight. Finger Lakes was able to cut the deficit to a point at 21-20, but
Joan Galmes and Kieler had back-to-back kills, and then
Aoki Lopez Fujikawa put the match away with two straight aces for a 25-20 win.
Kieler threw down 12 kills and hit .667 in the win. Galmes was right behind him with 11 kills as well as six digs.
Timothy Reyes handed out 30 assists in the match.
Moises Jimenez led the team with 10 digs while serving up three aces. Lopez Fujikawa had a team-high of four aces in the win.
Devounte Bennett led the Mustangs with four total blocks.
MATCH 2: Monroe 3, Clarkson Club 0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-17)
The Mustangs got off to a strong start on the Golden Knights, taking a quick 6-2 lead in the opening set. The Mustangs appeared to have control until four straight points by the Golden Knights made it a 13-12 game in favor of Monroe. The Mustangs responded by taking four right back, though a three-point run for the Golden Knights later made it a two-point set once again at 19-17. After Clarkson once again made it a two-point difference at 22-20, the teams went back-and-forth for the final five points of the game, seeing the Mustangs hang on for a 25-22 win to go up, 1-0.
It was another hot start for Monroe in Set 2, as the Mustangs ran out to a 6-1 lead, and later a 10-5 advantage. The lead reached eight points at 15-7, and the game later saw Monroe double up Clarkson, 22-11, after another six straight points. The Golden Knights then went on a 7-1 run to make it a 23-18 game, but the Mustangs regrouped and finished the job to pick up a 25-18 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Golden Knights picked up the first three points of the third set, but the Mustangs stormed right back to quickly make it a 12-4 game in favor of Monroe. The Mustangs never gave the Golden Knights an opening in the third frame, rolling to a 25-17 win to sweep the match.
Michael Pena took the lead on offense in this one, scoring seven kills with two aces, two blocks and five digs. Lopez Fujikawa had six kills with a pair of blocks and six digs. Kieler had another five kills with nine digs and a pair of aces.
Joriel Delgado totaled finished with five kills. Reyes handed out another 29 assists with eight digs. Jimenez picked up a team-high 14 digs, adding five assists.
Noah Liousfi had five blocks in the win.
The Mustangs return to the Monroe Athletic Complex on Saturday, Feb. 18, to host the NCAA's American International College in an exhibition. The 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 (
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@monroemustangs).
