NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., August 18, 2023 – The 2023 season got off to a perfect start for the No. 14-ranked Monroe College Mustangs women's volleyball team, as the Mustangs hit an outstanding .603 en route to a three-set victory over Raritan Valley Community College in the final match of the day in the Monroe College Volleyball Invitational at the Monroe Athletic Complex. The Mustangs start the year 1-0, while Raritan Valley split its two matches on the day.
The Mustangs had no rust to shake off in their first match of the new season, hitting .565 or better in each of the three sets.
Gabriela Aimi Zuquelo had a huge offensive day in the process, hitting .824 with 14 kills.
Darlenys Olivo was next on the team with eight kills while hitting .429, while
Manon Braunsteffer provided seven more with a .700 clip.
Tara Rajkovic had four kills on four attacks, and
Ariana De Jesus was also perfect on her two swings.
After the Mustangs and Lions traded the first six points of the match, the Mustangs found their rhythm, rattling off 11 straight points on
Kiara Figueroa's serve before Raritan Valley chose to take a timeout. A pair of kills by Zuquelo and another from Braunsteffer made it a 14-point run for Monroe before a service error got the Lions back on the board. The Mustangs kept the momentum going with another six points in a row to go up, 23-4. Raritan Valley picked up two more points down the stretch, but a decisive kill by
Izabela Wos ended the first set with a 25-6 score in favor of Monroe.
The second frame saw the Mustangs go on another big run, turning a 3-2 deficit into a 12-3 advantage with 10 straight points. Raritan Valley got back within eight at 16-8 before the Mustangs went on an untouchable run to score the final nine points of the game for a 25-8 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Mustangs had full control of the third game, trotting out to a 14-1 lead before the Lions' first kill of the set. Monroe pushed the lead to 16 with a kill by
Marilenny Lugo Polanco and two from Olivo before another kill for Raritan Valley made it an 18-3 score. That was as many points as the Mustangs allowed the rest of the way, tallying the final seven points of the day to close out the match with an impressive 25-3 win.
Splitting setter duties,
Francesca Andreon and
Martina Villani finished with 17 and 16 assists, respectively, on the afternoon. Olivo led the team with 11 digs, while
Alessia Gallo picked up seven. Gallo also served up a career-high eight aces the Mustangs' opener, while each of Figueroa and Zuquelo had three apiece.
Morelia Diaz and
Valeria Soto each tallied a pair of aces. Lugo Polanco had Monroe's only two blocks on the day.
The Mustangs are back at it during Day 2 of the Monroe Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 19, when they take on Atlantic Cape Community College in the third match of the day at 1 p.m. The day begins with the Monroe Express against Atlantic Cape at 9 a.m., followed by Nassau Community College vs. Raritan Valley at 11 a.m. The Express will take on Raritan Valley to close out the day 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 (
@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (
@monroemustangs).
