NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., February 10, 2024 – A pair of competitive matches both went the way of the Monroe College Mustangs men's volleyball team on Saturday at the Monroe Athletic Complex. The Mustangs first defeated Atlantic Cape Community College in four sets. They then took on NCAA Div. II American International College in an exhibition, coming out on top in a five-set thriller. With the win over Atlantic Cape, the Mustangs improve to 5-0 on the season.
MATCH 1: Monroe 3, Atlantic Cape 1 (25-16, 25-17, 23-25, 25-11)
The Mustangs got off to a slow start against the Buccaneers, playing to an even 9-9 start. The Mustangs then found their rhythm, scoring seven straight to go up, 16-9. A 5-1 run had the Mustangs ahead by 10 late in the set. Atlantic Cape managed a 4-1 run toward the end, but Monroe was able to close it out with a 25-16 win to go up a set in the match.
The Mustangs got off to a much quicker start in the second stanza, taking an early 10-3 edge over the Buccaneers. The visitors worked their way back a bit, cutting the deficit to four points at 18-14 before the Mustangs scored four straight to take an eight-point lead. The teams then traded the final six points back-and-forth, resulting in a 25-17 win for Monroe to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Monroe looked well on its way to a sweep after taking a 10-5 advantage over the Buccaneers in the third game. Atlantic Cape had no plans to go home so quickly, rallying to take a 14-13 lead. The set went back-and-forth for a bit, with the Mustangs temporarily jumping ahead five different times before Atlantic Cape scored four in a row to grab a 22-19 lead. The Buccaneers reached set point at 24-20 before Monroe threatened with three consecutive points, but the visitors were able to get one more kill to claim a 25-23 win and force the match to go to four.
An early 5-5 stalemate was the last time the Buccaneers threatened the Mustangs in Saturday's match. Monroe scored five of the next six points, and followed that up with an 8-1 run to take a commanding 18-8 advantage. After the score reached 19-11, the Mustangs did not take anything for granted, earning the final six points with two kills, a block and three aces to wrap up the match with a dominant 25-11 victory.
Briggs Wieboldt led the way in the win with 13 kills, four blocks, four digs and two aces.
Arnau Riu Giralt was right behind with 13 kills, seven digs and an impressive nine aces.
Ethan Grace threw down 12 kills, served up five aces and made a pair of blocks to go with four digs of his own.
Timothy Reyes handed out 44 assists in the win, adding seven digs, a block and two kills.
Damian Baker had a strong match on the net with a team-high six blocks to go with five kills.
Arthur Rosa picked up a team-high eight digs and registered five assists.
Devounte Bennett totaled four kills and three blocks.
MATCH 2: Monroe 3, American International 2 (25-20, 15-25, 13-25, 25-18, 15-12) (EXHIBITION)
AIC jumped ahead, 7-4, in the opening set of Saturday's exhibition, but the Mustangs managed to go on an 8-1 run to take a 13-8 advantage. The Yellow Jackets cut away at the deficit to get back within a point at 18-17, but the Mustangs scored the next three to keep their distance. Monroe held on from there, earning a 25-20 win to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Yellow Jackets turned on the heat for the next two sets. They rolled to an 8-2 lead in the second game, eventually pushed that lead to 15-6. The Mustangs were not able to work their way back, falling by a score of 25-15 to see the match even up at a set apiece. The third frame looked much like the second, with AIC taking an early lead and never looking back, resulting in a 25-13 loss for Monroe and putting AIC on top, 2-1.
The Mustangs had a turnaround early in the fourth set, taking a 9-4 edge over the Yellow Jackets. A four-point run later had Monroe up, 14-7. Monroe eventually had a late 13-13 lead, but the Yellow Jackets managed a 5-1 run to keep the set going, but a block by
Gabriel Stokes and
Timothy Reyes finished things off with a 25-18 win to force a deciding fifth set.
The fifth frame could not have been closer, as neither team led by more than a point until AIC scored two in a row to make it an 8-6 score and force the teams to switch sides of the court. The Mustangs bounced right back with four straight points to take a 10-8 lead on the Yellow Jackets. AIC took the lead right back with the next three points, but Monroe scored another three of its own to take a 13-11 advantage. The Yellow Jackets scored the next point out of their second timeout, but the Mustangs took care of business from there, scoring the final two points for a 15-12 victory to claim the five-set win.
Grace finished with a team-high 12 kills in the exhibition victory. Wieboldt scored nine kills with a team-high six digs. Reyes handed out 25 assists and hit .417 with five kills, adding four blocks and five digs. Stokes produced eight blocks and four kills in the win, while
Damian Baker totaled five blocks to go with six kills.
The Mustangs are on the road this Wednesday, Feb. 14, to take on Union College (N.J.) in Cranford, N.J. Wednesday's match is set to begin at 7 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 (
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