NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., February 3, 2024 – The Monroe College Mustangs men's volleyball team closed out the Monroe College Men's Volleyball Invitational at the Monroe Athletic Complex with a pair of victories on Saturday. First, the Mustangs turned in an epic comeback against Finger Lakes Community College to win in five, and then wrapped up the weekend with a three-set win over Union College. Monroe leaves the season's opening weekend with an unblemished 4-0 record.
MATCH 1: Monroe 3, Finger Lakes 2 (19-25, 29-31, 25-18, 28-26, 15-7)
A rematch of the 2023 NJCAA Men's Volleyball National Invitational final got off to an incredibly close start Saturday morning, seeing both teams knotted up at 16-16. The Lakers then went on 6-1 run, taking a 22-17 lead on the Mustangs. The Mustangs were unable to close the gap, dropping a 25-19 score in the opening game.
The Lakers got an early jump in the second stanza on the Mustangs, but Monroe tightened the set with a 4-1 run to get within a point at 9-8. Finger Lakes gained some momentum to go up, 15-10, but the Mustangs rallied to tie things up at 17-17. The Mustangs jumped ahead late, taking a 23-21 advantage, and later a 24-22 lead, but they were unable to close it out, with the Lakers tying the set up at 24-24. The Lakers held the advantage numerous times, but the Mustangs kept getting the point they needed to keep the game going to eventually reach a 29-29 stalemate. Finger Lakes then got the two kills it needed to close out the game, winning it 31-29 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
After a tough defeat, the Mustangs regrouped to take an early 7-3 edge in the third frame. A four-point run shortly after had Monroe up, 13-7. The Lakers were back within three at 17-14, but the Mustangs kept the pressure on to eventually go up, 23-17. Monroe did not take the lead for granted and made sure to close it out for a 25-18 win to send the match to a fourth set.
The Lakers were rolling to open the fourth frame, quickly taking a 9-2 lead on the Mustangs. The lead reached eight points on a couple occasions, the last being a 16-8 advantage for the visitors. The Mustangs began to chip away with a 5-1 run that made it a 17-13 game. The Mustangs kept fighting, getting back within a point at 21-20. Finger Lakes still had the edge, reaching match point at 24-22, but the Mustangs got three straight kills from
Briggs Wieboldt to keep the game going and just into the lead. With the fourth set knotted up at 26-26, a bad set by Finger Lakes put Monroe up once again, and then an ace by Wieboldt secured the 28-26 victory to force a deciding fifth set.
The Mustangs had all the momentum in the final frame, immediately grabbing a 5-1 lead before taking an 8-3 edge before switching sides of the court. Monroe later scored three straight to make an 11-6 score a 14-6 advantage. One last kill by
Arnau Riu Giralt ended the match with Monroe winning, 15-7.
Riu Giralt's incredible start to the second continued in Monroe's third match, throwing down a career-high 25 kills to go with eight digs and a block. Wieboldt finished with 14 kills, six digs, three blocks and a pair of aces in the freshman's best match of the weekend.
Ethan Grace had 12 kills, seven digs and five aces in another big Mustang performance.
Timothy Reyes handed out 51 assists with 12 digs for his second straight double-double while also leading the team with six total blocks.
Arthur Rosa picked up a team-high 24 digs. Devounte Bennet added three blocks, while
Damian Baker and
Gabriel Stokes had two apiece.
MATCH 2: Monroe 3, Union 0 (25-9, 25-19,
Saturday's final match saw Union keep it close with Monroe at 10-7 before the Mustangs went on a nine-point run to take a comfortable 19-7 advantage. The game did not last much longer from that point on, seeing the Mustangs pick up a 25-9 win to go up, 1-0, in the match.
A tight second set saw Union jump ahead, 14-12, but the Mustangs responded with three straight to take over. The game stayed close until Monroe turned a 20-19 lead into 24-19 with four straight points to reach set point. After a Union timeout, the Mustangs wasted no time finishing the job, earning a 25-19 win to go up, 2-0.
After the Owls opened the third frame with a 4-3 lead, the Mustangs quickly doubled up their guests, 12-6. The Owls chipped away at the deficit, bringing it to just two points at 18-16 to force the Mustangs to take a timeout. Monroe stretched its lead to 22-18 before Union scored three straight to get within one late in the game. The Mustangs scored the next two points to make Union use a timeout, and the Owls got one more back after the break, but Monroe held on with one final point to wrap up the match with a 25-22 win.
Wieboldt, Riu Giralt and
Vene Gase matched with a team-high seven kills in the win, with Gase hitting .500 in the process. Reyes passed out 24 assists with another five blocks and seven digs.
Gabriel Stokes led Monroe with six blocks in the match to go with his four kills. Rosa picked up eight digs with a pair of assists.
The Mustangs will play at home once again next Saturday, Feb. 10, for a pair of matches at the MAC. After a match between the Monroe Express and Atlantic Cape Community College, the Mustangs will take on Atlantic Cape at 1 p.m., followed after by a 4 p.m. exhibition against the NCAA's American International College.
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).
