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Monroe Express Women's Volleyball Has Strong Showing in NJCAA Tournament Out In Iowa
Posted: Nov 18, 2025

Monroe Express Women's Volleyball Has Strong Showing in NJCAA Tournament Out In Iowa

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - The 15th-seeded Monroe University - Bronx women's volleyball team competed in the NJCAA Division III Women's Volleyball National Tournament on this past Thursday and Friday at Alliant Energy PowerHouse Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. On Thursday, Monroe dropped a hard-fought contest to second-seeded Minnesota West Community & Technical College in straight sets, and were defeated by seventh-seeded Hudson Valley Community College on Friday.

It was a successful season for the Express (20-7) as they captured their fourth consecutive district title and were competitive against several of the country's top teams. 

Set scores against Minnesota West were 25-22, 25-9, and 25-19. Monroe put up a strong fight against the 2024 National Championship runner-up.

Monroe had a great start in the opening set as two kills by Cherlialix Carmona helped the Express earn a 7-5 lead. The LadyJays (38-5) countered with six straight points to jump out in front. Monroe battled back and pulled to within one. After that, Robyn Eddy and Gabriela De La Rosa provided block assists to tie it up at 14. The Blue and Gold's momentum continued by winning the next two points as well, capped off by a service ace courtesy of Julia Ramos, to give the Express a 16-14 edge. 

Minnesota West answered with a 4-1 run to take an 18-17 vantage. Carmona responded with a kill that sparked two straight points to give Monroe – Bronx the lead again, at 19-18. Each team split the next two points to put Monroe at a 20-19 benefit. The Express lost the next two rallies to fall behind, 21-20, but then scored next to even it up at 21 points apiece. 

Unfortunately for Monroe – Bronx, the LadyJays went on a 4-1 rally to capture the first set, 25-22.

Minnesota West led the second stanza from wire to wire to put Monroe – Bronx in a 2-0 hole.

The Express got off to a strong start in the third set as a putdown by Carmona gave her team a 2-0 advantage. The LadyJays surged back with four unanswered points to jump out in front. Carmona temporarily disrupted their momentum with another kill to inch Monroe – Bronx to within one. Later, with the Express trailing 6-4, Kaileex Batista nailed a service ace that sparked two straight points to even the frame at six points apiece. Each team split the next two rally wins to make it a 7-7 set. After Minnesota West scored three points in a row to take the lead, Monroe countered with two straight to shrink the opposition's advantage to 10-9. 

Minnesota West snatched the momentum with a 9-1 blitz to put Monroe in a 19-11 hole. However, the Express did not go down without a fight as three successful attacks from Carmona, plus a putdown by Sarai Hernandez and an ace from Batista, highlighted a 7-2 run to shrink Monroe's disadvantage to 21-18. Minnesota West scored two in a row to increase Monroe's deficit to five. Yamelyn Bonilla kept Monroe in it with a kill to make it a 23-19 set. However, the LadyJays scored the final two points to punch their ticket to the NJCAA Quarterfinal round. 

For Monroe, Carmona led the way with 11 kills, a .304 hitting percentage, eight digs, and two blocks during the contest. De La Rosa added six putdowns, three defensive bumps, and a duo of blocks. Batista notched seven assists, six digs, and four aces. Ramos provided nine helpers and two digs. Aleishka Diaz compiled five defensive bumps and two providers. Eddy generated two kills and just as many blocks. Brycelynn Paul notched two digs. Bonilla scored two kills and added an attack-neutralizing bump, while Hernandez finished with two blocks, a kill, one service victory, and an assist. Ayleenee Lopez chipped in on defense with a trio of digs. 

For the LadyJays, Sadie Krahling notched a double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs, while producing a .500 hitting percentage. Kate Slettum generated 28 assists, four kills, just as many digs, and two aces. Lydia Moore led all players with six service victories and helped on defense with four digs. Kylee Larsen scored six kills, while Aleah Wagner provided three putdowns, eight digs, four aces, and a pair of assists.

Against Hudson Valley, set scores were 25-20, 27-25, and 25-17.

Leading the way for Monroe – Bronx in the consolation contest was Carmona who provided nine kills and 13 digs, both match highs. De La Rosa compiled seven putdowns, four aces, and two defensive bumps. Diaz tallied nine digs, five service wins, and just as many providers. Paul also had a strong match defensively with nine digs of her own. Eddy generated six kills and two blocks.

The Blue and Gold got off to a slow start in the opening set, falling behind by a score of 10-4. The highlights for Monroe during that stretch were back-to-back service aces by De La Rosa. Later in the stanza, MU - Bronx trailed 19-12, but block assists by Carmona and Hernandez, plus a putdown by De La Rosa, pulled Monroe to within five. 

The Express continued to inch closer over the next several rallies as an ace by Ramos narrowed the Vikings' lead to 21-18. After Hudson Valley (26-2) extended its hold to five, Monroe got two of those points back, capped off by a kill courtesy of Eddy, to make it a 23-20 game. However, the Vikings scored the final two points to clinch the opening set. 

Monroe fell behind in the second frame, 3-0, but countered with three unanswered points, concluded by a successful attack from Carmona, to even it up. The Vikings responded with a 3-0 blitz of their own, but then Monroe won three straight rallies thanks to a putdown each by Eddy and Hernandez, plus an error by Hudson Valley. Each team split the next 10 points to make it an 11-11 deadlock. The Express gained momentum at that point as an ace from De La Rosa and then a kill from Eddy gave the Blue and Gold a 13-11 benefit. The Vikings scored three straight to jump back ahead but then Ramos and Diaz helped Monroe regain the vantage with a kill and an ace, respectively. 

Hudson Valley won the next three rallies to put Monroe in a two-point hole, but the Express got back on track to tie the match at 17 thanks to a kill from Lopez and a service victory courtesy of Batista. After each team scored an additional point, Hudson Valley gained the momentum by going on a 4-1 run to put the Express in a 22-19 disadvantage. It eventually became a 24-21 score in favor of the Vikings. 

Just like they have done all season, Monroe – Bronx fought back as a kill by Carmona capped off three straight points to even it up at 24. After the Vikings scored the next point, Carmona nailed another victory on the attack to knot the match up at 25. 

Unfortunately for Monroe, Hudson Valley recovered and scored the final two points to earn a tight 27-25 win in the second set to put the Blue and Gold in a 2-0 hole in the overall match. 

The Express' rally attempt at the end of the previous game carried over into the third as a solo block by Hernandez highlighted an early run that gave Monroe a 6-3 lead. Diaz followed with an ace to increase Monroe's advantage to four. Hudson Valley scored the next trio of points to pull to within one but then committed two straight errors to inflate Monroe's benefit to 9-6. 

The MU - Bronx Express eventually had a 10-7 lead, but the Vikings scored eight points in a row to catapult to a 15-10 vantage. Monroe fought back with three unanswered points, capped off by Eddy's putdown, to shrink its deficit to 15-13. Hudson Valley responded with its own three-point blitz to regain its five-point positive position. 

It was the Express' turn to clutch the momentum as a kill by De La Rosa and a pair of errors by the opposition narrowed the Blue and Gold's disadvantage to 18-16. However, the Vikings flipped it back into their favor with a 3-0 run to make 21-16 in favor of Hudson Valley. 

Monroe scored next but could not reclaim the momentum as the Vikings scored the final four points to clinch the set, the match, and a berth in the next round of the NJCAA Tournament Consolation bracket. 

Helping the Express during the contest was Ramos who produced seven assists and six digs. Hernandez added four assists and a duo of blocks. Lopez chipped in on defense with five digs. Batista provided four helpers and three defensive bumps. Diamondnique Stephenson added a dig.

For the Vikings, Jocelyn Caputo tallied eight kills, a .263 hitting percentage, eight digs, and a pair of aces. Lillian Frios notched seven putdowns, just as many digs, and six blocks. Brooke Poutre added six successful attacks and nine spike-neutralizing bumps. Gabriella Kholstinin had a double-double with 21 assists and 10 digs, while providing two kills and three blocks. Madison LaCouture added seven kills with 12 digs, while Avery McPherson recorded seven defensive bumps and three assists.

The Express will return to the court in August of 2026.