CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA – The nationally ranked No. 4 and fourth-seeded Monroe College – Bronx women's volleyball team concluded its incredible and historic season with a hard-fought loss to the seventh-ranked team in the country and 10th-seeded Dallas College – Brookhaven, 3-0, at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse Arena on Saturday, November 11. Set scores were 25-16, 25-5, and 25-18. As a result, the Express (23-4) earn an eighth-place finish in the NJCAA Tournament.
It was an incredible season for the Monroe – Bronx women's volleyball team, as they earned its highest national ranking in program history, won its first ever NJCAA Tournament match, captured its second straight district title, claimed the program's first ever Region 15 Championship, defeated multiple nationally ranked teams including one in the national tournament, had players and coaches earn major regional, district, and national awards, plus a whole lot more.
Leading the way for Monroe – Bronx was sophomore outside hitter
Lisanel Rodriguez who slammed home a match-high 14 kills and added eight digs. Classmate
Lesly Almonte provided five kills and seven digs, while sophomore setter
Luisanni Rodriguez added 19 assists on offense and five bumps on defense. Sophomore libero
Valery Nunez also anchored the defensive end as she tallied eight digs.
The Express got off to a slow start in the opening set, falling behind 5-0. The Blue and Gold fought back as a kill by
Lisanel Rodriguez narrowed the Bears' (15-17) lead to 7-2. Later in the frame, Almonte and
Lisanel Rodriguez nailed back-to-back put downs to shrink the Express' deficit to 10-4. Several rallies later, sophomore middle blocker Xing-Stewart Greer slammed home a kill to spark two straight points for Monroe to narrow the opposition's lead to 13-7.
Monroe – Bronx kept fighting back as another kill by
Lisanel Rodriguez narrowed Monroe's deficit to 17-11. The Express scored the next point to pull to within five, but the Bears countered with a 7-1 run to earn a set-point opportunity. The Express showed great perseverance by rattling off three straight points, highlighted by two more successful attacks courtesy of
Lisanel Rodriguez, to pull to within 24-16. However, the Bears clinched the first set on the next rally thanks to a kill by freshman middle blocker Remington McCarty to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Dallas – Brookhaven got off to another fast start in the second set, jumping out to an 11-0 benefit. Almonte got Monroe going with two kills to shrink the Bears' vantage to 12-2. She also nailed a service ace for the Express' fourth point of the stanza. It would not be enough as Brookhaven finished the second stanza on a 9-1 run to put Monroe on the brink of a match-loss.
The Express played their best in the third set, as they kept pace with the Bears throughout the frame. The Blue and Gold pulled to within a deficit of 6-3 in the early stages. Later, Stewart-Greer successfully blocked an opposing attack to spark two straight points to shrink the Bears' lead to 10-6. The Express continued to not go down quietly as freshman middle blocker
Nisa Llanos nailed a put down to help her team keep pace at 12-8. After Brookhaven scored the next two points, Llanos produced a block to cap off a 2-0 run by the Express to shrink the opposition's advantage to 14-10. Monroe kept the momentum going as
Lisanel Rodriguez connected with another kill to pull the Express to within two, at 17-15. However, the Bears pulled away with an 8-3 run to clinch the set and a seventh-place finish in the NJCAA Tournament.
For the Express, sophomore outside hitter
Selena Mitchell scored three kills, while rookie defensive specialist
Yasmel Molina had a productive day on defense with six digs. Sophomore defensive specialist
Laura Pinales tallied two digs of her own.
We thank the Monroe College - Bronx women's volleyball team for an outstanding and history-making run this year. They will return to the court in August of 2024.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 31 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 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 and men's volleyball programs, 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 Express, please visit us at
www.MonroeExpress.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (
Monroe Express), Twitter/X (
@MonroeExpress), Instagram (
@MonroeExpress), and Threads (
@MonroeExpress).
