GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – The Monroe College – Bronx men's volleyball team suffered a hard-fought loss in Region 15 play to Nassau Community College, in straight sets, at Nassau CC Main Gym on Friday evening. Set scores were 27-25, 25-14, and 25-22.
 
Leading the way for the Express (1-18, 1-5 Region 15) was freshman outside hitter Juan Arias who slammed home six kills, produced just as many digs, scored a service ace, and added an assist. Classmate Jeremy Rivera-Aponte tied a match-high with seven kills, plus he nailed two aces and had just as many blocks. Freshman middle blocker Marvin Culmer executed five successful attacks, while first-year outside hitter Anthony Estevez anchored the defense with seven digs.
 
In the opening set, the Express trailed 11-10 but then scored four straight points, highlighted by a pair of put-downs by Rivera-Aponte and capped off with a service ace courtesy of freshman setter Wiltor Cubas, to put Monroe in front by a score of 14-11. Later in the set, a pair of aces by Rivera-Aponte ignited four straight points by the Express to put them up 19-16. Monroe seemed to be in great shape as a kill by Culmer granted the Blue and Gold a set-point opportunity at 24-21. However, the Lions (8-11, 6-2 Region 15) scored four straight points in a blink of an eye to jump out in front, 25-24. Arias temporarily stopped the opposition's momentum by scoring a kill. Nassau scored the next two points to clinch the come-from-behind victory in the first set to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
The Lions' strong finish to the first set carried over into the second game as they earned a wire-to-wire victory, 25-14, to extend their lead to 2-0 in the match.
 
The Express played much better in the third set, as they owned nine different leads throughout the frame and led by as many as four. In the late stages, Arias slammed home a kill to give Monroe a 19-18 edge. Nassau countered with a 5-1 run to jump out in front, 23-20. A pair of errors by Nassau pulled Monroe to within one, at 23-22, but the Lions scored the final two points to clinch the game, 25-22, and the match-victory, 3-0.
 
For the Express, Cubas produced 16 assists and added two digs. Freshman middle blocker Mickey Mingo added two kills and three digs. Rookie defensive specialist Harold Romero tallied four digs, while classmate Elvis Ndubuisi added a pair of digs of his own. Freshman middle blocker Shain Frazier slammed home a kill, had two blocks, and added a dig.
 
For the Lions, freshman outside hitter Hunter Dunn had a double-double with 23 assists and 10 digs, while generating a kill, a service ace, and a block.
 
Monroe – Bronx will take on Borough of Manhattan Community College, in a key Region 15 contest at the Monroe Athletic Complex, on Saturday afternoon. First serve is set for noon. 

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).