NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – The Monroe University – Bronx men's volleyball team dropped a pair of contests during its tri-match, falling to both Union College (N.J.) and Nassau Community College in straight sets. The battle against the Lions (8-1, 3-0 Region 15) was the Region 15 opener for the Express (1-7, 0-1 Region 15). The matches took place at Monroe Athletic Complex.

In the loss to the Owls (4-4), set scores were 25-11, 25-21, and 25-20. Union never trailed in the first set. During the second stanza, back-to-back service aces by sophomore Jeremy Rivera-Aponte gave the Express a 7-5 advantage. Union pushed back and eventually took an 18-15 benefit. Rivera-Aponte got the Express back on track as another ace highlighted a 3-0 run for his team that tied it as 18 points apiece. However, the Owls finished the set by outscoring Monroe 7-3, concluding with a kill by freshman Jayden Guzman, to give Union the win in the second set and a 2-0 lead in the match.

In the third frame, a kill by freshman Darren Lopez sparked a 4-0 run by the Express to tie it up at six. The Owls answered with a 10-3 run to go up 16-9. Lopez executed another putdown that helped Monroe score four unanswered points to pull to within three. After Union scored the next point, the visiting team committed a pair of errors to pull the Express to within two. That was as close as Monroe got as Union went on a 6-1 run to take a commanding 23-16 hold. The Express fought back with four consecutive scores, but Guzman closed the door with back-to-back kills to clinch Union's third match-victory of the season over Monroe.

Rivera-Aponte and Lopez each had five kills and five digs for the Express, with the former scoring four service aces and the latter adding two assists. Sophomore Harold Romero led the way on defense with seven digs. Freshman Edwin Ortega provided five blocks.

For the Owls, Guzman compiled 12 kills, seven digs, and a duo of aces. Rookie Joshua Orihuela anchored the defense with 11 digs. Sophomore Daniel Silva recorded a match-high 32 assists to go along with two putdowns and five digs. Freshman Sebastian Arias generated nine kills and six digs. 

In the Express' contest against the Lions, set scores were 25-14, 27-25, and 25-15.

After Nassau earned the convincing win in the first set, Monroe got off to a much better start in the second frame as a kill by sophomore Mickey Mingo gave the Blue and Gold a 9-4 benefit. After the Lions scored the next point, they committed back-to-back errors to pad Monroe's lead to 11-5. Nassau answered with an 8-2 run to tie it up at 13. Later in the set, the visitors jumped out to a 20-17 advantage. Monroe fought back with a 3-1 rally, capped off by a kill from freshman Luis Vasquez, to narrow the deficit to 22-21. The Lions scored the next point, but then Monroe countered with three scores in a row to not only regain the lead but earn a set-point opportunity at 24-23. Nassau scored the next two to go up by one and steal the set-point position. The Express tied it up on an error by the opposing team, but Nassau scored the final two points of the frame, concluded by a service ace from freshman Thomas Wildeman, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Express and the Lions were neck and neck during the early stages of the third set, as a kill by Rivera-Aponte sparked two straight points to pull the home team to within one, at 10-9. Unfortunately for the Blue and Gold, Nassau took over for the remainder of the match, finishing it with a 15-6 run to earn the regional win. 

For Monroe, Ortega had 14 digs, three kills, and just as many blocks during the match. Freshman David Garcia notched 10 assists and five digs. Classmate Rogelio Guarneros added five digs of his own. Rivera-Aponte had another solid match with three kills and nine digs. Freshman Damien Ramos tallied two kills and three blocks. Vasquez chipped in defensively with six digs, while adding two kills on the offensive end. 

For Nassau, freshman Suhaib Amar had a double-double with 20 kills and 10 digs, while adding a pair of blocks and a duo of assists. Sophomore Jeremy Jara provided 30 assists and nine digs. Hussan Kahn slammed home three kills and recorded nine digs. Wildeman scored four kills, while sophomore Daniel Duran compiled six digs.

Monroe – Bronx will compete in the Finger Lakes Community College Invitational next weekend at Putt Moore Gymnasium. The first match will be on Saturday against the two-time defending National Champion Lakers at 2:00 p.m.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE UNIVERSITY  
The athletic program at Monroe University 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 University 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.  

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