THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Monroe University – Bronx men's volleyball team earned an impressive victory over Passaic County Community College, 3-1, at Monsignor Scanlan Gym on Monday evening. Set scores were 25-18, 25-22, 16-25, and 25-14. It marks Monroe's (8-16) second victory of the season over Passaic (5-11). The first victory was a 3-2 thriller on February 2 at Monroe Athletic Complex. 

Darren Lopez had a monster match for the Express with 17 kills,  a hitting percentage of .375, a career-high 14 assists, six digs, and a pair of service aces. Jeremy Rivera-Aponte produced 13 kills, three digs, and a duo of aces. Aiverson Guillen anchored the defense with eight digs. Edwin Ortega notched eight putdowns and four defensive bumps. David Garcia tallied a match-high 27 assists. 

Monroe – Bronx jumped out to a 5-0 benefit in the opening set and kept its lead for the remainder of the stanza.

The start of the second set was a different story as Monroe fell behind by a score of 6-0 and then 14-7. The Express slowly chipped away and eventually cut the deficit to 18-17. After Passaic went back up by two, the Express countered with two straight points to tie it up beginning with a kill by Rivera-Aponte. After the Panthers scored two of the next three points to regain the lead, Monroe found its groove as a kill each by Ortega and Lopez followed by back-to-back aces from Wiltor Cubas propelled the Blue and Gold to a set-point opportunity at 24-21. Passaic scored next, but then Lopez slammed the ball through the Panthers' defense to clinch the second set for Monroe – Bronx and a 2-0 lead in the match. 

In the third set, Ortega scored a kill to give Monroe an 11-10 lead. However, Passaic rattled off five points in a row to jump out in front, 15-11. The Express played catch-up for the remainder of the stanza but could not generate a consistent enough run to tie it as the Panthers went on to win the third game, 25-15, and pull to within 2-1 in the match.

Monroe was firing on all cylinders in the fourth set, leading from wire to wire. In fact, the Express finished the stanza on a 5-0 run, capped off by a kill from Lopez, to clinch its eighth win of the season. 

For the Express, Marvin Culmer added six kills, while Mickey Mingo generated three kills, four digs, and two blocks. Cubas added seven assists.

For Passaic, Elijah Wesley generated 10 kills, three service aces, two blocks, and just as many digs. Michael Egusquiza recorded eight digs and two assists. Keury Suarez compiled 24 assists, nine digs, and four kills.

Monroe – Bronx will host The New School University on Thursday night. First serve at Monsignor Scanlan Gym is set for 7:00 p.m. It's Sophomore Night and the Express men's volleyball honorees will be celebrated prior to the start of the match. 

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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