NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., February 4, 2023 – In the most competitive contest of the 13-match Monroe College Men's Volleyball Invitational, the Monroe College Mustangs men's volleyball team narrowly got the upper hand on Finger Lakes Community College, defeating the Lakers in a tightly contested four-set thriller at the Monroe Athletic Complex on Saturday. The Mustangs remain unbeaten at 6-0 with the win, while the Lakers take their first defeat to fall to 3-1.
The Mustangs got off to a strong start against Finger Lakes, taking a 10-5 advantage early on, but the Lakers rallied back within a point at 12-11. Monroe scored a point, but the Lakers then scored four straight to jump ahead, 15-13. Monroe scored the next three to take the lead back, eventually taking a 20-17 edge. The Lakers then managed to tie at 20-20, 21-21 and 23-23, before going ahead, 24-23. The Mustangs tied at 24-24 to delay set point, but the lakers picked up the last two points for a 26-24 win to take a 1-0 lead on Monroe.
The Lakers rode that momentum into the second set, gaining the lead early on and going up by five at 12-7. The Mustangs were able to tie at 15-15, but the Lakers scored the next three. Monroe responded by tying it up again at 18-18, but the Lakers took the next point. Two kills by
Joan Galmes and a third by
Aoki Lopez Fujikawa finally put the Mustangs ahead, 21-19, forcing Finger Lakes to use a timeout. Monroe went up by three on an attack error by the Lakers, but a service error brought Finger Lakes back within two. Another attack error by the Lakers had Monroe up, 23-20, before another timeout for the visitors. Galmes aced the Lakers to reach set point, but the Lakers stayed alive with two points to force a Monroe timeout. They then scored the next three to earn their own set point at 25-24, but the Mustangs rebounded to score the final three points to win, 27-25, and tie up the match.
The Mustangs gained the momentum from the late charge in the second set, jumping out to a 7-1 lead before the Lakers used their first timeout. The Mustangs stayed hot after the timeout, and later pushed the lead to 10 points at 18-8 to make the Lakers use their second timeout. The Mustangs held a 22-12 lead before the Lakers pushed back a bit with a 5-2 run, but a service error ended the visitors' run and gave Monroe a 25-17 win to go up, 2-1.
The Lakers turned things around in the fourth frame to take a 10-5 advantage on the Mustangs. After the score reached 16-11, the Mustangs turned the tables after a timeout, going on a 6-1 run to tie the set at 17-17. The Mustangs managed to jump into the lead, 20-19, but the Lakers got a point back to tie. Monroe then picked up the next two points to make Finger Lakes take a break with the score sitting at 22-20. The Lakers used another timeout after the Mustangs took the next point, but it did nothing to stop the Mustangs from closing this one out, as they scored the final five points of the afternoon to pick up a 25-20 win and claim the four-set victory.
Galmes led the team with seven aces and matched
Joe Kieler for a team-high 14 kills in the win.
Devounte Bennett added seven kills and matched
Noah Liousfi with four blocks.
Moises Jimenez had 19 digs, three assists and three aces in the match.
Timothy Reyes dished out a season-high 37 assists.
The Mustangs take to the road for the first time next weekend for a tri-match at Finger Lakes in Canandaigua, N.Y. The Mustangs get a rematch with the Lakers at 10 a.m., followed by a match with Clarkson University Club at 12 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 (
@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (
@monroemustangs).
