NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., February 3, 2023 – Day 2 of the Monroe College Men's Volleyball Invitational was another great day for the Monroe College Mustangs men's volleyball team, as the Mustangs picked up three-set victories against Middlesex College and the College of DuPage, respectively, at the Monroe Athletic Complex. The Mustangs remain unbeaten with a 5-0 record after adding two more wins on Friday.
MATCH 1: Monroe 3, Middlesex 0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-7)
Despite a slow start, the Mustangs held a 9-4 lead before Middlesex used a timeout. After the Colts got a point, a five-point run for Monroe made it a 14-5 score. The Colts got another before the Mustangs rattled off eight straight to take a 22-6 advantage. The Colts made a big run late, scoring 7-of-8 points to make it a 23-13 score, but the Mustangs rebounded with two straight to close out a 25-13 win in the first set.
The second stanza was even early on, with the Mustangs hanging on to an 8-7 lead. The Mustangs then began to pull away, scoring 9-of-11 points to grab a 17-9 edge. The lead reached 12 points late in the set before the Mustangs secured another 25-13 win to go up, 2-0.
The Mustangs did not let the early part of the third frame get close, rolling to a 5-0 lead before going up, 8-2, ahead of a Middlesex timeout. The Mustangs turned a 9-3 lead into a 19-3 lead with 10 straight points. The Mustangs kept their foot on the pedal down the stretch, picking up a dominant 25-7 win to close out the match.
Joan Galmes led the Mustangs with nine kills in Friday's opener, adding three blocks and an ace in a strong match.
Joe Kieler followed with six kills and hit .600, while
Noah Liousfi hit .833 with five kills, while also leading the team with four blocks.
Timothy Reyes dished out 22 assists in the win, adding two blocks as well.
Moises Jimenez led the team with 11 digs.
Arnau Riu Giralt served up six aces in the match.
Devounte Bennett added three blocks and three kills.
MATCH 2: Monroe 3, DuPage 0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-16)
Friday's second match saw the Mustangs quickly go up, 5-1, eventually holding a 12-5 edge on the Chaparrals before the visitors called a timeout. The Mustangs kept rolling, pushing the lead to 11 points late in the frame at 22-11. The Chaparrals did not go down easy, scoring the next five points to get within six and force Monroe to use a timeout. DuPage continued the run with three more points to make it a 22-19 game before a service error ended DuPage's run. On set point, an error kept the Chaps alive, but the Mustangs closed it out on DuPage's attack error to win, 25-20, and go up, 1-0.
The Mustangs took a 4-0 lead in the second set before the visitors scored 4-of-5 to get within one. The Mustangs then got into a rhythm on Jimenez's serve, scoring seven straight to go up by eight. DuPage got back within seven at 20-13, but the Mustangs scored five of the last six points to claim a 25-14 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Monroe got off to a strong start in the third set, jumping out to a 13-5 advantage on the Chaparrals. Later, a five-point run for the Mustangs had the score at 20-8. The visitors scored 5-of-6 to make it a 21-13 game, but the Mustangs did not allow the Chaparrals to get closer, wrapping up the match with a 25-16 victory.
Galmes had another strong match with a team-high 11 kills, as well as two aces. Liousfi threw down eight kills and hit .667 to go with a team-high two blocks. Kieler added seven kills and three aces. Reyes handed out 28 assists while adding four digs, a block, an ace and three kills. Jimenez picked up 11 digs and served up three aces.
The Mustangs wrap up the weekend on Saturday, Feb. 4, when they take on Finger Lakes Community College in the penultimate match of the Monroe College Men's Volleyball Invitational. The match is set to begin at 3 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).
