Cordero crowned MVP
By RJ Troche
BRONX, NEW YORK, August 27- You can't do better than opening the season with a title. The nationally- ranked #14 Monroe Mustangs women's volleyball team was crowned champion Saturday night in the Niagara CCC Thunderwolves tournament after going a perfect 5-0 to open their season, all in one grueling day. Leading the charge for the Mustangs was freshman outside hitter Tathianna Cordero who finished the day with 40 kills, three aces and five blocks and was named the tournament's “Most Valuable Player.”
“This was a great way for us to start the season,” said coach Nephtali Delgado Reyes. “All of our players contributed in different aspects of the game and they all came together as a team in order to win the tournament."
“Tathianna did a great job for us today,” said Coach Delgado Reyes. “But, we still have a lot of work to do to get to the level we expect in order to achieve our goals. Overall, though it was a great win for the team and it shows what we are capable of.”
Monroe began the tourney in a similar fashion as they did last year and produced the same result. In the first round of pool play (9:00am) the Mustangs defeated Onondaga CC 2-0(27-26, 25-12). Stats for the game
Monroe then defeated both Lorraine CC 2-1(21-25, 25-18, 25-19) -which proved to be their toughest opponent of the tourney- and District L rival Genesee 2-0(25-9,25-22) which positioned them as the number one seed in pool #1 and set up a semi-final round matchup against Nassau CC.
Behind Freshman RS Lydia Ortiz's nine kills (in twelve attempts) and Cordero's eleven digs and two blocks Monroe defeated Nassau in straight sets 2-0 (25-15, 25-14). Sophmore RS Eli Rojas also had a stellar game, she recorded five kills in five attempts. Last season Rojas lead the Mustangs in kills and hitting efficiency.
The Mustangs then faced rival Genesee CC once again in the championship game. Last year, Genesee ended Monroe's season when they defeated Monroe twice at the district tournament, becoming only the second team to hand the Mustangs a loss all year. However, this time around the Mustangs would not be denied. Monroe defeated Genesee 2-0(25-15,25-23) and became tournament champions.
Tournament notes:
- Second year head coach Nephtali Delgado Reyes improved to 34-4 lifetime at Monroe College.
- For the first time ever Monroe volleyball has started the regular season 5-0
- Eleven freshmen made their debut for the Mustangs.
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