BRONX – The nationally ranked No. 9 Monroe College – Bronx women's volleyball program will begin the 2023 season on Saturday, August 19, with a pair of matches against elite competition in the Monroe – New Rochelle Invitational. The Express will take on Atlantic Cape Community College at 9:00 a.m. and then battle Raritan Valley Community College at 3:00 p.m. All matches will take place at the Monroe Athletic Complex in New Rochelle, N.Y.
 
Fans can follow all the action via the live stats page at this link. For live streaming video, you can watch the 9am match against Atlantic Cape here and the 3pm contest versus Raritan Valley at this link.
 
The Monroe – Bronx Express will look to build from its success last season in which the program earned a spot in the NJCAA Division III National Tournament for the first time in team history, captured the Northeast District B Championship, and earned a berth in the Region 15 Championship match as the No. 2 seed. Coming into this season, Monroe is nationally ranked for the first time in program history.
 
For the 2023 season, the Express will return all their starters from last year's district championship squad, headlined by NJCAA All-America Honorable Mention team honoree Lisanel Rodriguez. She will serve as co-captain along with sophomore Valery Nunez. Monroe also has multiple transfers joining the program, including Selena Mitchell who played for Lehman College during her freshman year. Four rookies will be joining the Express this season and all of them are poised to make an impact on the team. 
 
Monroe will be led by first-year Head Coach Odaly Aponte-Orta, who helped guide the team to its historic season as associate head coach in 2022. She will be assisted by Edeana Martinez and Madelayne Perez, the former being in her third season with the program and the latter entering her first season with the team.
 
The full 2023 Monroe College – Bronx Express women's volleyball roster can be seen here. 
 
Atlantic Cape went 9-7 last season and earned a berth in the NJCAA Region 19 Championships. 
 
Raritan Valley is currently receiving votes in the NJCAA National Poll. In 2022, the Lions went 28-5, finished the year ranked No. 10 in the country, and advanced all the way to the NJCAA Region 19/North Atlantic B District Final. 
 
Monroe – Bronx will face a challenging schedule which can be seen in its entirety here.
 
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 (@MonroeExpress), Instagram (@MonroeExpress), and Threads (@MonroeExpress).