NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – The Monroe University – Bronx men's volleyball team concluded the Monroe Mustangs Invitational with a pair of matches on Sunday afternoon at Monroe Athletic Complex. After losing a heartbreaker to Atlantic Cape Community College in five sets, the Express bounced back later in the evening to earn a triumphant five-set victory over Passaic County Community College. It marks the first victory for Marien Garcia as head coach of the Express. 
 
In the thrilling win over the Panthers (0-3), set scores were 26-24, 25-20, 21-25, 19-25, and 15-11.
 
Leading the way for Monroe (1-4) was freshman Darren Lopez who had a monster match with 21 kills, 18 digs, and three blocks. Sophomore Jeremy Rivera-Aponte had a near double-double with nine kills and just as many digs, while adding a duo of blocks. Freshman Aiverson Guillen anchored the defense with 13 digs and slammed home two kills on the offensive end. Rookie David Garcia produced 29 assists, six digs, and two blocks.
 
In the first set, Rivera-Aponte scored a kill to make it 23-21 in favor of the Express. After Passaic County scored the next point, Rivera-Aponte struck again with a kill to give Monroe a set-point opportunity. The Panthers countered with two straight points to tie it up at 24. However, the Express got back on track as Garcia and Lopez combined for back-to-back kills to clinch the first set for Monroe, 26-24. 
 
In the second stanza, the Express fell behind by as many as four and then trailed 19-16. After that, Monroe flipped a switch and finished the frame with a 9-1 run to complete the come-from-behind win in the set, 25-20, and take a 2-0 lead in the match. Rivera-Aponte notched two kills during Monroe's game-closing blitz.
 
Monroe - Bronx fell behind 5-0 in the third set and never recovered as Passaic County claimed a 25-21 win to pull to within 2-1 in the match. 
 
The Express got off to a better start in the fourth frame as they took a 13-7 benefit. The Panthers did not go away as they snatched the momentum and finished the stanza on an 18-6 run to even the match at two sets apiece which forced a fifth and deciding game. 
 
Things looked bleak for the Express as they fell behind by a score of 9-7 in the rubber frame. However, Monroe fought back as a kill by Rivera-Aponte highlighted a stretch of five unanswered points to propel the Blue and Gold to a 12-9 benefit. Passaic County scored the next two points to pull to within one. Fortunately for Monroe, Lopez nailed a putdown and then the Panthers committed an attack error to give Monroe a set-point opportunity. Lopez wasted no time and finished it off with a kill to clinch Monroe's first win of the season and second in program history.
 
For the Express, freshman Rogelio Guarneros tallied eight digs, while sophomore Mickey Mingo provided seven digs, two kills, and just as many blocks. Freshman Luis Vasquez recorded three putdowns and four digs.  Rookie Edwin Ortega slammed home four kills and compiled two blocks, while sophomore Wiltor Cubas added nine helpers. Classmate Harold Romero chipped in with three digs. 
 
For the Panthers, rookie Briseas Ransom tallied a double-double with 18 kills and 14 digs, while adding three assists. Classmate Elijah Wesley added 13 kills, four blocks, and three digs. Sophomore Malik Banton slammed home 10 kills to go along with four blocks and three digs. Freshman Keury Suarez produced a 22-assist and 11-dig double-double. He also had three kills and two blocks. First-year player Michael Egusquiza just missed a double-double as he finished with 23 assists and nine digs. Freshman Jesus Cuautle generated nine kills, 16 digs, two service aces, and just as many assists. Newcomer Pablo Crisostomo compiled 15 digs and a pair of assists. 
 
In the Express' five-set thriller against Atlantic Cape (1-2) earlier in the day, the scores were 25-19, 24-26, 22-25, 25-16, and 15-11.
 
Rivera-Aponte produced a double-double for the Express (1-4) with 12 kills and 16 digs, while adding three blocks. Lopez slammed home a team-high 17 kills to go along with eight digs and a duo of assists. Guarneros anchored the defense with 12 digs, while Garcia generated 37 assists, five digs, and two blocks. 
 
In the opening set, Monroe built a 16-12 advantage, but the Buccaneers countered with four unanswered points to tie it up. A kill by Lopez and then a service ace courtesy of Ortega capped off a 3-1 rally by the Express to put them back in front, 19-17. However, Atlantic Cape took over by scoring the final eight points of the stanza to clinch the set and a 1-0 lead in the match. 
 
Monroe got off to a slow start in the second half by falling behind 19-15. The Express recovered and snatched the momentum by going on a 7-2 blitz, highlighted by two kills from Rivera-Aponte and a putdown by Mingo, to propel Monroe – Bronx to a 22-21 benefit. The Bucs answered with two consecutive points to jump back ahead by one. After each team scored a point, the Express were staring at a 24-23 deficit and in danger of falling behind by two sets in the match. The momentum shifted as an error by Atlantic Cape evened the frame. Then, Rivera-Aponte produced a successful attack and then Lopez nailed an ace to clinch the come-from-behind victory for Monroe in the second set, 26-24, and even the match at a game apiece.  
 
The Express' strong finish in the second stanza carried over into the third, as Monroe jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks to a series of attack errors by the opposition. The Buccaneers chipped away and eventually pulled ahead, 10-9. Later in the frame, a kill by freshman Brandon Stolfo extended Atlantic Cape's lead to 17-15. Monroe did not let its slump put them down as a kill by Guarneros highlighted a stretch of six straight points by the Express to put them in front by a score of 21-17. The Bucs countered with four straight points of their own to even it up at 21. Each team then scored a point to make it a 22-22 deadlock. Monroe closed out the set on a surge as two kills by Lopez sandwiched a 3-0 blitz to give Monroe the game-victory, 25-22, and a 2-1 edge in the match. 
 
The Blue and Gold got off to a great start in the fourth set as another kill by Lopez gave Monroe a 5-3 advantage. However, the Buccaneers went on a 7-1 run to take the lead for good at 10-6. The Express could not get back into it as Atlantic Cape won the fourth set to knot up the match at two and force a fifth frame.
 
The Express fell behind 8-4 in the deciding game. However, they fought back as two kills from Rivera-Aponte keyed a run of five straight points to put Monroe ahead, 9-8. After Atlantic Cape tied it up at nine, the Buccaneers committed two straight errors to give Monroe an 11-9 benefit. Unfortunately for the Express, the Bucs scored six unanswered points to not only retake the lead but close out the fifth set 15-11 and earn the come-from behind five-set thrilling victory. Stolfo clinched the win for Atlantic Cape with his 15^th kill of the contest.
 
For Monroe - Bronx, Ortega and Mingo each slammed home five kills, with the latter adding five blocks. Romero notched seven digs, while Guillen compiled three kills and two digs. Vasquez had a solid match defensively with nine digs.
 
For Atlantic Cape, second-year player Aiden Nicholls had a double-double with 18 kills and 10 digs, while notching four blocks and scoring a pair of service aces. Sophomore Alec Barnes produced 15 kills and five digs. Freshman Lautaro Canazares anchored the defense with 15 digs, while recording two helpers. Sophomore Ambinintsoa Rasoloharison provided 12 assists and two digs. Stolfo had 11 digs and two assists to go along with his 15 kills.
 
Monroe – Bronx will travel to New Jersey on Monday, February 10, for a battle against Union College (N.J.). First serve at Union College Gymnasium is set for 7:00 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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