GLEN ELLYN, Ill., April 21, 2023 – The top-seeded Monroe College Mustangs men's volleyball team won its first two matches on Day 1 of the inaugural NJCAA Men's Volleyball Invitational, defeating No. 5 Union College and No. 4 College of DuPage to take Pool A's No. 1 seed after the Pool-Play Round. The Mustangs then faced off with Pool B's No. 1, Finger Lakes Community College, falling in a dramatic four-set match to the Lakers for the Mustangs' first-ever loss. The Mustangs will now be the No. 2 seed in Saturday's Championship Bracket, earning a first-round bye as a result.
POOL A MATCH 1: #1 Monroe 3, #5 Union 0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-16)
Having been off for nearly a month, the Mustangs got off to a bit of a slow start in Friday's opening match. It took until midway through the opening set, when Union held a 14-13 lead, for the Mustangs to right the ship. A 4-1 run had Monroe ahead, 17-15, but the Mustangs soon finished off the opening frame with a 7-1 stretch to claim a 25-18 win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Union took another early advantage in the second stanza, going up, 6-3 on the Mustangs. Monroe scored four straight to take the lead, but was unable to pull away from the Owls. The Mustangs trailed late in the set, 20-18, but regrouped after a timeout to score four straight and 5-of-6 to take a 23-21 advantage. Monroe closed out the tight set with a 25-22 win to go up by two sets.
The Mustangs had a good start to the third game, scoring the first four points and grabbing an early 5-1 lead. Another four-point run later in the set had Monroe up, 14-7, with a 5-1 run later on giving the Mustangs a nine-point advantage at 20-11. The Mustangs never looked back from there, picking up a 25-16 win to close out the first match of the day in three sets.
Joe Kieler led the floor with 11 kills in the match, adding a pair of aces as well.
Noah Liousfi threw down eight kills.
Timothy Reyes had a match-high 33 assists to go with a block and seven digs.
Arnau Riu Giralt picked up a team-high nine digs.
Alex Nunez led the Mustangs with four aces and two blocks in the win.
POOL A MATCH 3: #1 Monroe 3, #4 DuPage 1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-13, 25-21)
Having lost just one set all season to an NJCAA team, the Mustangs were caught off guard by a fired up DuPage team in Friday's Pool-Play finale. After a tight start, the Chaparrals used a 5-1 run midway through the opening set to take a 17-10 advantage on the Mustangs. DuPage had a 19-13 edge on Monroe before the Mustangs began to chip away at the deficit with four straight points. The Mustangs were within two before the Chaparrals pushed their lead back out to five at 23-18, and later, 24-19. The Mustangs tried to make a comeback with three straight points, but were unable to close the gap, falling, 25-22, to go down a set.
The Mustangs turned things around in the second set, jumping out to a 12-5 lead over the Chaparrals. DuPage narrowed the gap at 12-8, but the Mustangs pulled away once again to go up by eight at 19-11. The teams mostly traded points back-and-forth from there, with the Mustangs picking up a 25-15 win to tie up the match and swing the momentum back in their favor.
A 5-5 start to the third frame then saw the Mustangs rattle off four straight points. Monroe kept rolling, pushing the lead all the way to 10 at 18-8. After DuPage got back within six, the Mustangs did not let them score another point, taking the final six points of the game for a 25-13 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Things were still rolling for the Mustangs to start the fourth frame, as they took an 8-3 advantage early on. DuPage managed to get back within two at 11-9, keeping it close until a 4-1 run for Monroe made it a 19-13 score. The Mustangs were nearing the end of the match with a 20-16 lead, but the Chaparrals would not let Monroe pull away, going on a 4-1 run to make it a one-point game. The Mustangs used their timeout well, scoring the next three points to force match point. After DuPage got one back, a service error by the Chaparrals ended the match, with the Mustangs claiming a 25-21 win for a four-set victory.
Kieler once again led the court with 13 kills in the Pool-Play finale, adding an impressive seven aces and five digs. Riu Giralt and
Michael Pena both stepped up with nine kills apiece, with Riu Giralt also serving up five aces. Reyes dished out 34 assists while matching Pena for a team-high of two blocks.
Moises Jimenez led the team with 10 digs in the win.
As a result of Monroe going 2-0 in Pool A, the Mustangs left pool play as their pool's No. 1 seed, and advanced to take on Pool B's No. 1, Finger Lakes Community College, in the Crossover Round to determine seeding for Saturday's Championship bracket.
CROSSOVER ROUND: #3 Finger Lakes 3, #1 Monroe 1 (21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 34-36)
The opening set of Friday's final match was neck-and-neck right from the get-go until late in the game. The Mustangs grabbed an 11-9 lead, but the Lakers took 4-of-5 to jump back ahead. Finger Lakes led, 17-15, but the Mustangs quickly tied it up. The Lakers were up, 21-20, when they scored three straight to force set point. The Mustangs got one more point back, but the Lakers closed it out for a 25-21 win to go up, 1-0.
After the Mustangs jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set, the Lakers turned things around with a 6-1 run to take a 7-5 advantage. Finger Lakes went up by three shortly after, but the Mustangs scored 7-of-9 to jump ahead, 16-14. Both teams kept trading two-point runs until the Mustangs led, 20-18. They both then went back-and-forth on each point, seeing the Mustangs tie up the match with a 25-23 win.
The Lakers took a big lead early in the third game, eventually going up, 18-10. The Mustangs worked their way back with an 8-1 stretch to make it a one-point game, but the Lakers scored the next three to force Monroe to use a timeout. The Mustangs scored 3-of-4 out of the timeout to get back within two, but a service error gave the Lakers set point at 24-21. Kieler threw down a kill to keep it going, but Finger Lakes' Nick Ferris closed it out with a kill of his own to give the Lakers a 25-22 win and a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set proved to be the most dramatic one of the season for the Mustangs, and likely the NJCAA in its inaugural season. The Mustangs managed to jump out to a 9-4 lead, later holding an 11-6 advantage. Monroe's 13-9 lead soon became a 14-14 stalemate. A three-point run later put the Lakers up, 17-15, but the Mustangs responded with three of their own to go back on top. After trading points for a bit, the Lakers used another three straight to take a 23-21 lead, eventually forcing match points at 24-22. The Mustangs managed to stay alive with three straight points, but the set was far from over. Both teams had their chances to close it out, but neither was able to get that final point, seeing the set tied up all the way to 34-34. Unfortunately, it was then that the Lakers were finally able to break through, getting those final two points for a 36-34 win and a four-set victory over the Mustangs.
Kieler had another big match in Friday's defeat, totaling a season-high 23 kills while picking up six digs. Riu Giralt also hit a new season-high with 11 kills, adding three aces to lead the team. Liousfi threw down 10 kills. Reyes reached a new season-high with 49 assists.
Devounte Bennett made three blocks in the match. Jimenez led the team with seven digs.
After Friday's final result, the Mustangs will top the right side of the Championship Bracket as the No. 2 overall seed in the six-team tournament. The Mustangs get a first-round bye to the semifinals, where they will take on the winner of No. 3 Bryant & Stratton College (Wis.) and No. 6 Union at 1 p.m. EDT. The winner of that semifinal match will compete in the 5 p.m. EDT Championship Match to determine the first-ever NJCAA Men's Volleyball Invitational Champion.
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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