BRONX, N.Y., September 25, 2018 – Monroe Express women's volleyball defeated the Sullivan County Community College Generals, 3-0, in straight-sets on Tuesday at Roberto Clemente State Park to earn their first win in program history.
 
After a back-and-forth start to the first set, the Express pulled ahead by two, 16-14, the largest lead of the game for either team so far, on kills by Dennyfer Hernandez and Dawn Franklin. Sullivan pulled within one, but after Julie Trowers won the serve back, the Generals couldn't break Rachel Arias' serve, and Monroe pulled ahead by five.
 
The Generals would close the gap to four, 22-18, but Jayleen Orta finished off the first set victory with an ace and a block by Franklin, giving the Express a 25-18.
 
Sullivan County served to open the second set, jumping out to an early 4-2 lead. But the Express rallied off the serve of Orta, tying the set and six and quickly pulling away. Following the 6-6 tie, Monroe rattled off the next eight points to go-ahead 15-6, all off the serve of Smeritte Colon.
 
The Express led by as many as nine before Franklin's kill finished off the set and gave Monroe a 25-17 victory and a 2-0 sets lead.
 
And after trailing to open each of the first two sets, the Express took the lead in set three and never looked back. Rachel Arias opened the third set with an ace, adding three more to open a 6-0 lead.
 
Sullivan won the serve back on an error, but back-to-back errors gave the Express a 7-1 advantage. Serves by Joanna Contreras and Liz Morales brought the lead out to 12-3, as the Express pulled away, leading by as many as 13.

The Generals put together a late rally, firing off four-straight points to cut the lead to 22-14, but Jessica Gonzalez finished off the match with an ace and another kill by Franklin to give the Express a 25-14 third set victory, and their first win in program history.
 
With the win, the Express move to 1-7 (1-6 Region XV) on the year.
 
Arias led the way for the Express, totaling 14 assists, eight aces, two digs and a kill for a total of nine points. Hernandez had a team-high six kills, while Franklin had five, with each adding three digs.
 
On the receiving end, Orta led the Express with seven digs, while Trowers tallied three blocks.
 
The Express will look to make it two-in-a-row when they take on Rockland Community College on Thursday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. at Roberto Clemente State Park.
 
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 18 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, and the newly added club men's volleyball team, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus as of the fall of 2017, has seven teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.

For more information about the Monroe Express, please visit us at www.MonroeExpress.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Express), Twitter (@MonroeExpress) and Instagram (@MonroeExpress).