New Rochelle, NY – The Monroe University men's volleyball team fell in a thrilling five set showdown against in-region rival Nassau Community College (25-19, 15-25, 21-25, 25-21, 14-16) on Tuesday.
Freshman
Santiago Valenca set a new career-high in kills with 21, while fellow freshman
Erick Concepcion served up 12 kills on the night. Defensively, sophomore
James Ross recorded 14 digs, with freshmen
Glenn Gandarillas and
Murilo Gibeli adding 10 and 11, respectively.
It all came down to an intense fifth set against the Lions. After falling behind 10-5, Monroe embarked on a 4-0 run capped off by a service ace from Concepcion. A thunderous block from Gandarillas and Gibeli then tied it up at 11.
Back-to-back service errors kept the score knotted up before Valenca achieved his 20th and 21st kill of the match to put the Mustangs a point away from victory. But Nassau battled back as a kill and attack error by the Mustangs put the road team in the driver's seat.
A violation called on Gibeli ended the match.
It was an exhilarating battle that saw the Mustangs comeback several times. But in the end, it was Nassau who walked away with the victory, pushing Monroe to 9-5 on the season.
Monroe will be back in action on Wednesday as they take on a familiar face — Monroe University (Bronx). Game time is set for 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).
