Morristown, TN – The Monroe University women's volleyball team went a perfect 4-0 at the Walters State Invitational on Friday and Saturday, capping off the weekend with a straight-set victory over No. 23 Lurleen B. Wallace Community College (25-19, 26-24, 25-19) on Saturday.
On Friday to open the slate, Monroe defeated Walters State College, 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19) and Pellissippi State Community College, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-17). Then on Saturday, the Mustangs handled USC Salkehatchie, 3-0 (25-9, 25-9, 25-18), before defeating the ranked Saints to increase their win streak to 19 games.
In game one against the hosts, freshmen
Alisha Pereira Rodriguez-Wells and
Adriana Garcia, and sophomore
Deyja Tshibangu each had double-digit kills en route to a four-set victory. Sophomore
Mileyshka Melendez and freshman
Chiara Lovadina each recorded 23 assists, while sophomores
Emma Dedushaj and
Fabiana Lopez led the way with 32 and 17 digs, respectively.
Against Pellissippi State, Pereira Rodriguez-Wells and Garcia once again led the Mustangs offensively as the team ended the day with two hard-fought victories.
Saturday saw a quick 3-0 win over USC Salkehatchie before a big-time showdown versus nationally-ranked Lurleen B. Wallace.
Lopez shined against the Saints to bookend the invitational. The Puerto Rico native paced the team with 14 kills and also contributed ten digs in the match.
Set one was finalized by a kill from Garcia, while set two saw a late run from the Saints push it to extra time. Sophomore
Jelena Peric stepped in to be the hero, recording a kill off an assist from Melendez before capping off the set with a service ace.
In the third set, Monroe went up by as much as nine late as the momentum continued in its favor. Three attack errors by the Saints resulted in the final three points needed for the Mustangs to wrap up the weekend in style.
Monroe now sits at 25-6 and can push its win streak to 20 games in a Wednesday home tilt against County College of Morris at 6:00 pm.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE UNIVERSITY
The athletic program at Monroe University encompasses a total of 26 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as the Monroe University 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.MonroeUMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (
Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (
@MonroeMustangs) and Instagram (
@monroemustangs).
