NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., March 9, 2024 – The Monroe College Mustangs men's volleyball team fell behind, 2-1, to Bryant & Stratton College (Wisc.) Saturday afternoon at the Monroe Athletic Complex, but managed to rally back to defeat the Bobcats in five sets. Monroe improves to 17-4 overall with the win, while the Bobcats drop to 7-7.
The Mustangs and Bobcats had a good back-and-forth battle in Saturday's opening set. The Bobcats managed to take a 10-7 lead on the Mustangs, but Monroe soon tied things up at 11-11. Monroe jumped ahead, 14-13, and managed to hold off Bryant & Stratton from there. They took a 20-16 edge over the Bobcats late, and later used three straight points to reach a 23-17 score. The Mustangs then closed out the game with a 25-18 win to go up, 1-0.
The second stanza got off to a tough start for the Mustangs, as the Bobcats jumped out to a 9-3 advantage. The Mustangs then got hot, scoring 8-of-9 to take over the lead, 11-10. Neither team was able to pull away from the other, later reaching a late stalemate at 21-21. The Mustangs reached set point at 24-22, but the Bobcats stayed alive with the next two points. A kill by
Arnau Riu Giralt gave Monroe the advantage, but Bryant & Stratton rebounded with three straight points to pick up a 27-25 win and tie the match at 1-1.
The Bobcats grabbed the early edge on the Mustangs again in the third set, going up, 10-6. The Mustangs later tied it up at 12-12, but the Bobcats maintained control, later taking a 19-15 advantage over Monroe. The Mustangs were unable to close the gap, dropping a 25-18 score to fall behind, 2-1, in the match.
The Mustangs were rolling to start the fourth frame, taking a 7-1 lead over the Bobcats. Monroe later had an 11-5 edge, but the visitors worked their way back within two at 14-12. The Mustangs responded with four straight points to take an 18-12 lead. Monroe pushed its lead out to 22-16 before the Bobcats scored the next three to force a timeout. The Mustangs came out of the timeout and scored 3-of-4 to close out the fourth with a 25-20 win, sending the game to a deciding fifth set.
Monroe got off to another strong start in the final set with a 4-1 lead over the Bobcats. The teams then traded points until two straight by Monroe put the Mustangs up, 8-4, before the teams switched sides of the court. The Mustangs maintained control of the game after the flip, taking an 11-6 advantage to force the Bobcats to use a timeout. Two points by the Bobcats forced Monroe to take a timeout, but they came out of the break with three straight points to reach match point at 14-8. The Bobcats stayed alive with two more points, but a kill by Riu Giralt ended the day with a 15-10 win.
Riu Giralt led the Mustangs with 19 kills in the win, adding five digs, four aces and three total blocks for a strong match for the sophomore.
Briggs Wieboldt was next with 10 kills while tying
Eduardo Somensi for a team-high nine digs.
Joe Kieler threw down eight kills and hit .412 while picking up seven digs.
Devounte Bennett added six kills and a team-high four blocks while picking up six digs.
Timothy Reyes dished out 50 assists with six digs, four aces and two blocks.
Arthur Rosa scooped up five digs.
The Mustangs are on the road this Wednesday, March 13, with a short trip into New York City to take on Borough of Manhattan Community College in Region 15 action. Wednesday's match is set to begin at 6 p.m.
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).
