Tribunes prevail on Sophomore Night

ROCHESTER - The MCC volleyball team honored its departing sophomores in a ceremony before the match and celebrated with them at its conclusion after a three-set victory over Finger Lakes Community College Wednesday night.

The Tribunes took the match 25-18, 26-24, 25-19 to finish the regular season 14-3 in regional play and 24-7 overall. Monroe will take part in the WNYAC Tournament this weekend before traveling to the Region III tourney Oct. 28 and 29.

MCC jumped out to a quick lead in the opening set before suffering a setback as setter Jessie Blumenfeld left the match due to an injury. The Lakers grabbed momentum for a moment and tied it at 11, but Tessa Engel kick-started a 6-0 run with an ace as Monroe eventually took the opening set.

FLCC took the early lead in set two, but a block kill from Cherelle Grant and a pair of aces from Engel helped MCC get back into it. The Lakers then put together a run of their own and raced to a 20-11 lead.

Monroe scored the next six to cut the lead to 20-17 and the teams then traded points. An Andrea Green block brought MCC to within 24-23, and a pair of Laker miscues put Monroe on the brink. Green then came through with a huge block kill to put the set away.

The Tribunes spotted FLCC the first five points of set three before responding with five of their own. A pair of kills each from Engel and Grant helped MCC take control, and Green closed the match with another big block.

Engel finished with 10 kills, 15 digs, and four aces for MCC. Green added five kills, seven digs, and three blocks, and Chelsea Steinruck had seven kills and six digs.

Laura Wyckoff and Sam Ashman stepped in and took over setting duties for Monroe. Wyckoff finished with 10 assists to go along with 11 digs, while Ashman tallied eight assists and seven digs.