On Saturday, Nov. 8, MC’s (Montgomery College’s) volleyball team concluded another dominant season in a heartbreaking loss against the Monroe University Mustangs. The affair brought their collective record for the season to 23-5, one game better than last year’s record of 22-5.
Monroe University, based in Rochester, New York, is the only school that’s posed a challenge to MC. MC is 25-1 in the Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference (MDJUCO) over the past two seasons, that lone loss coming last year from Hagerstown Community College, who the Raptors swept this year. With that being said, MC’s got a chokehold on the conference, but still
seeks to triumph over the Monroe Mustangs who defeated the Raptors for the 14th consecutive time this past weekend.
Set 1: 21-25
The Mustangs established a 3-0 lead to kick the match off before Outside Hitter/Defensive Specialist (OH/DS) Sophia Dasilva got a kill from the right side, giving the Raptors their first point. The Mustangs immediately got possession of the ball back, in hopes to extend their lead. However, libero Alaryss Medina thwarted those plans by recording two aces and two digs to give the Raptors enough momentum to go on a run of their own.
Freshman middle blocker Caitlin Doherty continued the run with an overpass kill, and DS/OH Emma Salas followed that up with an ace to give the Raptors a three point lead. Throughout the set, fellow freshmen Sofiia Mateshuk and Jordan Palazzo combined for seven kills, both playing an imperative role in keeping the Raptors in contention in the opening set. Mateshuk, who was recently awarded with the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) Region 20 Tournament’s MVP award scored two of her points off of two consecutive blocks.
Sophomore Allie Botha checked into the match and got herself an ace to bring the score to 20-22. Despite the Raptors’ efforts and highlight plays, they lost the set by four points.
Set 2: 25-21
The Raptors proceeded to win the second set by the same margin they lost the first. Dasilva and Medina were MC’s first two servers in this set, and they served to be problematic for the Mustangs’ defense. Dasilva recorded an ace to get the Raptors their second point, and Medina went on her second effective service run. Although none were aces, each of her serves resulted in a bad pass by the back row, in turn making the ball hard to set, in turn making the ball hard to hit. As a result, the Mustangs proceeded to make three consecutive hitting errors, giving the Raptors an early 6-2 lead.
Reserve setter Rosely Valdivia checked into the game following a run made by the Mustangs and had an immediate impact. Her first assist was a one-handed set to Doherty who recorded another kill from the middle. Sophomore middle blocker Hillary Malik recorded her first of many blocks in the midst of a four-point run, in which the Raptors saw themselves up 13-8 by the end of the game.
The Mustangs found themselves creeping back into the game, but two consecutive kills from pin hitter Isabella Pavlo and another ace by Medina kept the Raptors well in front, leading to their eventual four point victory.
Set 3: 15-25
By the end of the third set, the Raptors found themselves in a position they’d been in before. In a handful of their matches against the Mustangs, the Raptors took one of the first two sets before losing big in the third, which killed their momentum and ultimately led to them losing even
bigger in the fourth and final set. The Mustangs simply dominated this set, posing the question: How will the Raptors respond?
Set 4: 23-25
The Raptors lost the first four points of this match, in what seemed like a repeat of history. However, Malik took this adversity as an opportunity to take the momentum of the game back, as she proceeded to score four consecutive points at the net, three from blocks and one from an overpass kill. Two points later, after setter Janelle Orellana took the first ball, Malik took the second and assisted Sofiia Mateshuk for her sixth kill of the match. Medina followed this up with another strong serve that resulted in an overpass that was crushed by Doherty once again.
Midway through the set, the Mustangs went on a run to tie the match up at 13, but once again, Malik shifted the momentum with a monster kill from the middle to retain the lead. She then proceeded to get the Raptors’ next point as well, this time from the right side assisted by Orellana. Orellana then scored the Raptors’ next point with a stealthy setter dump to tie the score up 17-17. The set remained close, with both teams using both of their timeouts during the final stretch; however, the Mustangs did end up winning and advancing onto the NJCAA National Championship.
The Raptors had an amazing season that includes a ten-game win streak, an eight-game win streak, conference and division titles, and a 20-4 regular season record. As a team graduating more than half of their roster, the expectation would be for MC to see a dip in success come next season; however, with freshman powerhouses like Palazzo, Doherty, and Mateshuk at the net, and Dasilva playing all around, the Raptors have a lucrative future.
