SPRINGFIELD, Mass., March 22, 2024 – In their second tight matchup of the season, the Monroe College Mustangs men's volleyball team and American International College (AIC) needed a highly competitive four sets to determine a victor on Friday at Henry A. Butova Gymnasium. With two sets needing extra points to be decided in the match, the Mustangs picked up a four-set victory over the Yellow Jackets to sweep the season series.
The Mustangs and Yellow Jackets played an incredibly competitive and even match throughout the evening. The opening set saw the Mustangs grab an early 9-4 lead, later pushing it to 11-6 before AIC made its way back into the game. Monroe managed to hold off the Yellow Jackets for nearly the entire frame, but after taking a 23-20 edge, the Yellow Jackets scored three straight to tie. Monroe reached set point at 24-23, but the Yellow Jackets tied and then took the lead at 25-24. Monroe scored the next two, but the AIC picked up three straight to pull out a 28-26 win.
The second set went back-and-forth, with the Mustangs breaking a 12-12 tie with five straight points. A 6-1 run shortly after had the Mustangs up, 23-14. AIC made a push to come back with five straight points to hold off set point, but the Mustangs got the one they needed on a kill from
Devounte Bennett to pick up a 25-20 win and tie the match.
The Mustangs went up, 11-8, early in the third set. A four-point run by the Yellow Jackets put the home team ahead, 16-14. The Mustangs went on a 5-1 run to go back on top, 20-18, later taking a 23-20 advantage before the Yellow Jackets got back within one. Monroe hit set point at 24-22, but AIC scored two straight to tie. After trading points to reach a 25-25 tie, the Mustangs scored the final two points for a 27-25 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Mustangs set the tone for the fourth frame by scoring its first three points. The Mustangs later scored 6-of-7 to take a 13-7 advantage over the Yellow Jackets. Monroe went up by as many as nine points at 19-10 and 20-11, looking to get out of there with a quick win. The Yellow Jackets continued to push, later cutting the deficit to seven at 23-16.
Joe Kieler made sure time ran out on AIC's comeback hopes, getting kills on two of the final three points of the match for a 25-17 victory and a four-set conquest.
Arnau Riu Giralt scored a team-high 11 kills in the win to go with five digs, two blocks and an ace.
Damian Baker had a big night on the net with nine kills (.467 clip) and a team-best five blocks, adding two aces and a dig as well. Kieler was net with eight kills and a .500 hitting percentage in the win.
Timothy Reyes totaled 38 assists, four blocks, four digs and two kills.
Ethan Grace and
Gabriel Stokes each registered two blocks apiece, with Grace adding five kills and three digs.
Arthur Rosa led the Mustangs on Friday with eight digs.
The Mustangs get right back to work on Saturday, March 23, when they return home to the Monroe Athletic Complex to host a Region 15 match against Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) at 2 p.m. Prior to the Mustangs' match, the Monroe College Express will take on BMCC beginning at 12 p.m. at the MAC.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 20 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College 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.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (
Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (
@MonroeMustangs) and Instagram (
@monroemustangs).
