West Chester, PA - Monroe opened the night with a strong first-set performance, but West Chester responded by taking the next three sets to hand Monroe a 3-1 loss Tuesday night on the road. Monroe won the opener 25-19 before West Chester answered with victories of 25-17, 25-23 and 25-11. The loss moved Monroe to 5-4 on the season, while West Chester improved to 7-7.
The opening set remained tight through the early stages, with neither side able to create much separation. Monroe broke a 12-12 tie by putting together a 4-0 run, highlighted by a kill from Thais Chantal Cocly Vasquez and a block from Vasquez and Bianca Valdez. West Chester pulled within 18-16, but Monroe maintained control down the stretch. A block from Liliana Barbierikova and Cocly Vasquez made it 21-17 before Mileyshka Melendez followed with an ace. Fabiana Lopez then delivered an ace at set point before Adriana Garcia finished the frame with a kill for the 25-19 victory.
Monroe carried the momentum into the second set and held an early 4-2 advantage before West Chester began to settle in. The teams battled through ties at 6-6, 8-8, 10-10 and 11-11 before the hosts started to pull away. With West Chester ahead 14-12, Gwen Atkins sparked a six-point run from the service line that included four aces and pushed the lead to 20-12. Monroe responded with three straight points to cut the deficit to five, but West Chester closed out the set 25-17 to even the match.
The third set developed into the closest frame of the night. West Chester led 15-11 before Monroe answered behind consecutive aces from Alisha Pereira Rodriguez-Wells and a block from Kristhaly Torres and Cocly Vasquez to pull within 15-14. The hosts rebuilt their advantage to 21-17, but Monroe again fought back. Garcia recorded a kill and an ace during a 4-0 run that tied the set at 21-21. Monroe later erased another two-point deficit, with Washington and Pereira Rodriguez-Wells delivering kills to tie the score at 23-23. West Chester, however, captured the final two points to escape with a 25-23 win and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
West Chester carried that momentum into the fourth set and closed the match with a 25-11 victory. The hosts hit .421 in the final frame while Monroe was held to a -.111 hitting percentage, giving West Chester the 3-1 decision.
Garcia led Monroe with nine kills while hitting .240 and added 11 digs, an ace and a solo block. Cocly Vasquez finished with seven kills and played a major role at the net with one solo block and six block assists. Lopez added six kills and an ace, while Milani Isatu Washington recorded five kills on 11 attempts for a .273 hitting percentage.
Odalis Cox led Monroe with 16 assists and added eight digs, while Melendez contributed 12 assists, eight digs and two aces. Emma Dedushaj also collected eight digs, and Pereira Rodriguez-Wells recorded two aces. As a team, Monroe finished with 35 kills, 33 assists, six aces, 49 digs and eight total blocks. West Chester countered with 48 kills while hitting .224 and recorded 12 aces and eight total blocks.
