New Rochelle, N.Y., September 30, 2021 - The Monroe Express women's volleyball put forth a strong effort against Region 15 powerhouse Queensborough Community College on Thursday evening at home, going toe-to-toe with them despite dropping the match in straight sets (23-25,18-25,14-25) at the Monroe Athletic Complex. The loss drops the Express to 0-5 (0-4 Region XV) while the Tigers remain perfect at 4-0 (4-0 Region XV).

The Monroe Express had some solid individual performances on the evening despite the loss as sophomore Jeribeth Hodge (Bronx, N.Y.) and freshman Adaiah Felix (Bronx, New York) both recorded their first double-doubles of the season. Felix led all players with a match and career-high 13 kills to go along with 16 digs, also a career-best. Hodge dished out a team-high 20 assists and recorded 11 digs while freshman Arielys Colon (Bronx, New York)  tied a match-high with two service aces, and classmate Yorlennis Nunez (Bronx, N.Y. ) smashed a career-high five kills on the evening.

Queensborough entered the match tops in the nation with a .423 hitting percentage. Defensively, the Express made it tough for the Tigers offensively on the night, holding their hitting percentage below .100 for the match. Colon picked up a game and career-high 26 digs while classmate Emely Diaz (Bronx, New York) also registered career-high with 15 digs.

As mentioned, Monroe-Bronx got things started on the right foot in the first set burying seven of the first eight points - four kills coming from Felix - before Queensborough responded with an 11-3 run, evening it up at 10 and stretching the advantage to 12-10. After Felix threw down two kills to tie it at 17 and give the Express the lead back 18-17, the Tigers recorded eight of the final 13 points to take the opening set 25-23.

The Express got out the gate fast again in the set, building an early 11-4 lead before Queensborough put forth a ferocious 8-1 run to knot it up at 12. After both squads exchanged the following two points, the Tigers would grab the next four to make it 17-13. Monroe-Bronx ringed up three consecutive points - two of them on a service ace from Colon and Kill by Felix - to get back within one, 17-16 before the Tigers closed it out with an 8-2 run to go up in the match 2-0 with a 25-18 second set victory.  

After both teams traded the first four points in the third set Queensborough constructed a 17-3 run to build their lead to 19-5, their largest of the night cruising from that point to take the match in consecutive sets with a 25-14 victory. 

Freshman Desiree Morales spearheaded the Queensborough Community College offensive attack with a team-best eight kills. Rosanna Bradica and Ipek Yurttutan racked up seven kills in the match, and Valerie Muse had six. Bradica also had three solo stuffs while sophomore Amira Durkovic dished out a match-best 29 assists and tied another alongside Yurttutan with two service aces. Defensively, the Tigers had four players register double-digit digs as Morales brought in a team-best 20 digs while sophomore Leslie Flores finished with 17 digs and Kristinn Bostrom and Yurttutan had 14 and 13 digs, respectively.

Notables 

• Adaiah Felix (Bronx, New York) has buried 22 kills over her last two games and leads the Express with 31 kills for the season.
• Jeribeth Hodge (Bronx, N.Y.) registered back-to-back double-digit assist games for the first time since 2019, when she hit that mark consecutively in Monroe-Bronx's final 19 matches. She recorded 20 assists for the first time since she did it vs. Union County C.C. on September 19, 2019.
• Arielys Colon (Bronx, New York)  has served up seven service aces over the last two matches and has recorded two or more in four of five contests this season and one in each.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 36 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, the Monroe College marching band, and the newly added esports program, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 17 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).