NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., August 30, 2024 – The Monroe University Mustangs women's volleyball team impressed in its first competition in front of the home crowd this season, rolling to back-to-back three-set victories on Day 1 of the Monroe University Volleyball Invitational at the Monroe Athletic Complex on Friday. The Mustangs opened the day with a victory over NJCAA Div. III No. 15 Raritan Valley Community College before capping off Day 1 of the invitational with a sweep of Montgomery College. The Mustangs improve to 5-2 on the season with the pair of wins.
Match 1: Monroe 3, Raritan Valley 0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-18)
The Mustangs quickly jumped out to a 6-2 edge over the Lions in Friday's opening set. The visitors narrowed the gap at 8-6, but the Mustangs then caught fire, rattling off 10-of-11 points to take a commanding 18-7 lead on the Lions. Raritan Valley managed to cut the deficit back down to seven at 20-13, but the Mustangs did not let their guests hang around much longer, claiming a 25-15 win to go up, 1-0, in the match.
Monroe carried that momentum into the second stanza, scoring seven of the first eight points. The Lions got back within five, but the Mustangs responded with a huge 10-1 run to take a big lead at 20-6. Raritan Valley scored four straight points late in the game, but the Mustangs notched the final three to take a 25-11 win for a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third frame saw the Mustangs get off to an even better start, as they trotted out to an 11-2 advantage. Raritan Valley later got hot, going on an 8-0 run to get within one at 12-11. The Mustangs managed to hang onto the lead, scoring 5-of-6 to go up, 17-12. Three straight points shortly after had Monroe ahead, 20-13, looking to close out their first match of the day. Raritan Valley continued to battle to get within five of the Mustangs, but Monroe closed the door with the final two points of the match for a 25-18 win and a three-set sweep of the Lions.
Madison Smith and
Jelena Peric tied to lead the Mustangs with eight kills in the win. Peric added seven digs and two aces, but Smith hit a team-best .462.
Natalia Rodriguez threw down seven kills of her own.
Mileyshka Melendez handed out 23 assists to go with five digs and an ace.
Flavia Pecora picked up a team-high 11 digs with six kills and two aces.
Kristhaly Torres scooped up eight digs.
Fabiana Lopez served up six aces in the win with five kills and two digs.
Match 2: Monroe 3, Montgomery 0 (25-16,
The Mustangs led by just a point early in Friday's final match, but used a six-point run to take a 10-3 edge on the Raptors. The lead was eight once again at 15-7, but the Mustangs could not quite pull away from the Raptors just yet. A late run for Montgomery cut Monroe's lead to 20-16, but the Mustangs held Montgomery to just one more point down the stretch, picking up a 25-17 win to take a one-set lead in the match.
The second set got off to an even start with the two teams reaching a 5-5 stalemate early on. The Mustangs scored 6-of-7 to take an 11-6 edge, later going up by six at 13-7. The Mustangs extended that lead to nine at 21-12, never wavering down the stretch to take a 25-14 win for a two-set lead.
After another tight start to the third set, the Mustangs broke a 4-4 tie with seven straight points to go up, 11-4. The Mustangs held strong to their comfortable lead, emphatically wrapping up the day with a 25-14 win for another sweep.
Peric led the way in Monroe's last match of the day with 10 kills to go with four digs and two aces. Rodriguez was next with five kills, as well as four aces and five digs. Pecora had a very similar match with four kills, four aces and eight digs. Melendez dished out 22 assists, made two blocks, picked up three digs and served up two aces. Torres grabbed five digs and registered three aces.
The Mustangs have just one match left for the weekend on Day 2 of the Monroe University Volleyball Invite on Saturday, Aug. 31. They will take on Fayetteville Technical Community College at 11 a.m., bookended by two neutral-site matchups between the other competitors of the tournament at 9 a.m. and 1 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 (
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