La Plata, MD – The Monroe University women's volleyball team swept its doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, defeating the College of Southern Maryland, 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-19, 26-24), and Westmoreland County Community College, 3-0 (25-10, 25-9, 25-10).
The two victories pushed Monroe's win streak, which began on September 27, to eight matches, with seven of the wins coming in Maryland.
In match one against the College of Southern Maryland, the Mustangs lost the first set for the first time since August 23 against Cape Fear Community College.
A 23-25 loss saw the Mustangs control the kill category by a margin of five, but eight errors to the Hawks' five proved to be the difference maker in the narrow loss.
Set two went back in Monroe's favor, however, with the visitors cutting down on errors while still maintaining control in the kill department. Set three was a continuation of that trend, with Monroe stacking up 16 kills and limiting itself to just six errors.
The final set of the match saw Monroe relegate back to near double-digit errors with nine, but another decisive victory in the kill department helped the team finish the job against the Hawks.
Freshmen Natalia Rodriguez and Jelena Peric led the way with 16 and 13 kills, respectively. Freshman Flavia Pecora contributed five service aces to earn Monroe its seventh win in a row.
Match two against Westmoreland County was a lopsided affair. The Mustangs controlled the match from the get-go with a 25-10 victory. A 25-9 win in set two followed before the visitors earned the straight-set victory on another 25-10 set win.
The Mustangs were efficient, connecting on their kill opportunities at a 30.3% rate. They collected double-digit kills twice before compiling nine in the final set of the match.
Freshman Fabiana Lopez paced the Mustangs with seven kills, with freshman Elin De Boer contributing five service aces.
With the wins, Monroe moved to 19-4 on the season. It will head to Florida for its next four games, with a matchup against Warner University on Thursday, October 17, due up next.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE UNIVERSITY
The athletic program at Monroe University encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 20 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as the Monroe University marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeUMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (@MonroeMustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).
