CRANFORD, N.J., March 8, 2023 – An historic first season of NJCAA men's volleyball competition now has its first 10-win team, as the Monroe College Mustangs men's volleyball team defeated Union College in three sets on Wednesday to improve to an unblemished 10-0 on the season.
After the Mustangs took a 9-5 lead early in the opening set, things took a big turn, as the Owls scored seven straight points to go up, 12-9. After Union took a 13-10 lead, the Mustangs bounced back in a big way with a 13-1 run that put them back on top, 23-14. A service error halted Monroe's run, but they got right back on track with the final two points for a 25-15 win to take a 1-0 lead.
The Owls refused to let the Mustangs pull away in the second stanza. The Mustangs jumped ahead, 7-5, but were unable to push the lead beyond three points for much of the set. The Mustangs were hanging on by two at the tail end of the game when they managed to score four of the last five points to claim a narrow 25-20 victory over the Owls for a 2-0 edge in the match.
The Mustangs rounded into form in the third set to pick up a quick final win of the evening. The Mustangs rolled to a 10-3 lead early on and steadily built upon their advantage the rest of the way. A 6-1 run had Monroe ahead, 15-5, later using three straight points to go up, 18-7. The Mustangs wrapped things up with a 5-1 stretch for a commanding 25-8 victory.
Joe Kieler led the Mustangs with 10 kills on the evening.
Noah Liousfi was next with eight kills, impressively adding eight blocks as well as two aces.
Timothy Reyes dished out 23 assists and had four blocks of his own, as well as a pair of service aces.
Moises Jimenez picked up a team-high 14 digs.
Monroe's upcoming weekend matches were canceled, so the team will play next on Friday, March 17, when they visit Vassar College for an exhibition up in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. That match is set to begin at 4 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).
