GLEN ELLYN, Ill. – The #8-seed Monroe University – Bronx men's volleyball team closed out its run in the NJCAA Championship Tournament on a strong note, defeating regional rival and #6-seed Borough of Manhattan Community College in a five-set thriller. As a result, Monroe earned seventh place in the inaugural NJCAA Championship Tournament. The instant classic took place at The Physical Education Center Arena, on the campus of College of DuPage, on Saturday morning.
Set scores were 25-23, 16-25, 29-27, 23-25, and 15-11.
It marked the first national postseason win for the Express men's volleyball team in program history.
"We're so happy to get our first win in the national championship tournament," Express Head Coach
Marien Garcia said. "It's amazing as a coach to feel what the players feel on the court."
Monroe and BMCC split its four head-to-head meetings this year with each team winning a regular season match and a postseason contest.
Darren Lopez had a productive outing for the Express during the seventh-place match with 18 kills (.225 hitting percentage), seven digs, and three service aces.
Frandie Martin tallied 12 kills (.292 hitting percentage), three blocks, a trio of digs, and just as many assists. Thanks to his strong performance throughout the NJCAA Championship, Martin earned a spot on the NJCAA All-Tournament team.
Johnnovan Reyes tallied a double-double for Monroe with 36 assists and 10 digs, while adding two kills.
Edwin Ortega generated nine putdowns, seven defensive bumps, and three blocks.
J'Adon George compiled five successful attacks, three blocks, and just as many digs.
Damien Ramos notched four kills and six blocks.
Monroe (18-15) fell behind 11-7 in the opening set. However, back-to-back kills by
Darren Lopez and Martin sparked a 6-1 run that put the Blue and Gold in front, 13-12. After Borough of Manhattan (13-8) recaptured the lead at 16-15, Ortega scored back-to-back kills, and then
Fidel Ramirez provided a putdown of his own, to help Monroe go on a 4-0 run and take a 19-16 benefit. The Panthers won four straight rallies to jump out to a 20-19 advantage.
The two teams split the next four points to make it 22-21 in favor of the Panthers. George slammed a kill and then Ortega nailed an ace to catapult the Express to a 23-22 edge. After BMCC tied it at 23, Monroe won the next point to earn a set-point opportunity. Reyes wasted no time and scored a kill to clinch the first game and a 1-0 lead in the match for the Express.
Both teams were neck and neck throughout the majority of the second set. However, after the score became 16-14 in favor of Manhattan, the Panthers went on an 8-0 run to earn a set-point opportunity at 24-14. The Express scored the next two points to stay alive but then Mansur Lechiev slammed a kill to secure a victory in the second set for the Panthers and a 1-1 tie in the match.
Monroe trailed 17-11 in the third set and was in danger of going down 2-1 in the overall contest. However, a kill each by
Darren Lopez and Reyes highlighted a 6-2 run that narrowed BMCC's lead to 19-17. After the Panthers extended their lead to 21-18, Monroe scored three straight points to tie it.
BMCC earned three different set-point opportunities (24-23, 25-24, and 26-25). The Express came back to tie it up each time. With the stanza knotted at 26,
Darren Lopez scored a kill to give Monroe the lead. After BMCC tied it, George slammed a kill to put Monroe back in front. Reyes clinched the third-set victory for the Express by successfully blocking an opposing attack to put Monroe up 2-1 in the seventh-place match.
In the fourth set, the Panthers jumped out to a 7-2 lead. After falling behind 19-10, Monroe chipped away with an 8-1 run to narrow the deficit to 20-18 in a blink of an eye. After each team split the next four rallies,
Darren Lopez slammed a kill to conclude a 2-0 run and tie the stanza at 22. However, Manhattan closed the set with a 3-1 run to even the match at two games apiece and force a fifth and deciding set.
The Express fell behind, 5-4, in the rubber game. However, Monroe - Bronx came back and jumped out to a 7-5 lead thanks to three consecutive errors by BMCC. After the Panthers pulled to within one, George and
Darren Lopez combined for back-to-back kills which began a 3-0 run to extend the Blue and Gold's lead to 10-6. The Panthers answered with three straight points of their own to once again shrink the Express' edge to just one.
Monroe won the next three rallies, keyed by blocks from Ramos and
Darren Lopez, to pad its surplus to 13-9. After the Panthers scored the next point,
Darren Lopez notched a kill to give Monroe a match-point opportunity at 14-10. BMCC won the next rally to stay alive. In the next sequence, Martin took a pass from Reyes and slammed the ball through the defense and onto the floor for the putdown to clinch the national postseason victory, and a seventh-place finish, for the Express.
Also helping Monroe during the national postseason match was Ramirez who scored four kills.
Pedro Bello Lopez produced eight digs and four assists.
David Garcia provided eight helpers and four defensive bumps.
Rogelio Guarneros and
Aiverson Guillen added one dig each, with the former also scoring a service ace.
For BMCC, Jordi Toapanta registered 55 assists. Jeriel Peguero tallied 23 kills, seven digs, and five blocks. Chance Longmore added 12 putdowns and seven blocks. Lechiev and Sebastian Brath each registered nine kills and just as many digs, with the former providing four blocks and a pair of service aces.
The Monroe University – Bronx men's volleyball team will return to the court in January of 2027.
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, 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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