NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Monroe College volleyball team was a poor host on day one of the 2015 Monroe Invitational by sweeping a pair of matches from Harcum and Northern Virginia by identical scores of 3-0. The team is now 23-0 on the season. The Mustangs beat Harcum by scores of 25-12, 25-7 and 25-17. They defeated Northern Virginia by scores of 25-15, 25-9 and 25-7.
Indira Rojas opened the match serving for Monroe and the Mustangs scored the first eight points behind a cadre of contributors. Cristen Coryatt, Jourdan Hodge and Barbara Maximiano all recorded kills. Coryatt, Hodge and Maximiano all teamed up for blocks. The Bears finally got on the board at 8-1 when Ashley Ramos mishit a dig. Monroe got the serve back immediately after Maximiano finished a long rally with a kill. Monroe eventually led 11-3.
From there, the Mustangs made a few subs and kept control of the set. The lead got back to 8 points, at 16-8, forcing Harcum to use a timeout. Out of the respite, Rojas was once again along the backline serving for Monroe and the scoring gap grew to nine, 17-8, following an error on a Rojas serve. The lead got as large as 12 late in the set as Ramos served out the set for Monroe, taking it 25-12 on a Nautica Vega kill.
Set two was tied at 3-3, but strong serving from Neysha Gonzalez highlighted a 5-1 run and put Monroe ahead, 8-4. The Mustangs forced a Harcum timeout after scoring four straight to make it 12-4. Monroe poured it on from there, gaining a ten-point lead when a Gabriella Nobrega kill made it 15-5. A 4-1 run pushed the score to 19-6 and the Bears used their second timeout of the set. Monroe took the second set, 25-7 behind a strong Rojas serve.
The Bears fought hard in the third set and led 8-6. They eventually led 11-8. From there, Monroe showed some moxie and fought back to take the set and the match, 25-17. The final point came off an error from a Maximiano serve. Coryatt, Maximiano and Ramos had eight kills each in the win.
The Mustangs faced Northern Virginia a week prior and came away with a three-set win. Saturday would be a mirror image of the first meeting.
Set one was back-and-forth early as the score was eventually netted at 10-10. From there, an 8-2 run put Monroe ahead, 18-12. The points came from three Maximiano kills, a pair of Rojas aces and kills from Coryatt and Hodge. The Mustangs took the set, 25-15 as Ashley Ramos served the final two points.
The second set went to Monroe, 25-9. With the scored tied at 6-6 and Coryatt serving, the Mustangs scored five straight to grab an 11-6 lead. After a Northern Virginia timeout, Monroe outscored them 14-3 the rest of the way. The third set went to the Mustangs, 25-7.
Day two of the 2015 Monroe Invitational is slated to begin at 10:00 AM on Sunday, September 27 from the Monroe Athletic Complex in New Rochelle. The Mustangs host FIT at 11:30 AM and play Nassau Community College at 4:00 PM.