New York, New York - The BMCC men's volleyball team kept their strong momentum going during their inaugural season, putting on a show for their supporters in their first-ever home opener, sweeping Region 15 opponent Monroe-Bronx in straight sets (25-18, 25-20, 25-19, 25-22) on Thursday night at BMCC Gymnasium. The Panthers move to 2-0 (2-0 Region XV) while the Express fall to 0-12 (0-1 Region XV) with the loss.
Freshman Chong Lin Li led the Panthers on offense, uncorking a career and game-high 18 kills, while classmate Hugo Paz (Mexico City, Mexico) dished out a game-best 22 assists while tying with fellow underclassman Jonathan Duarte (Bogota, Colombia) and Isah Mohammed (Lagos, Nigeria) for service aces with two.
Freshman Eugene Villarruz (Queens, New York) led the Panthers on defense with a game-high 18 digs.
The Express jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead in the opening set before the Panthers responded with a 9-3 run capped off by two Duarte service aces to tie it up at 10 and give BMCC their first lead 11-10. Monroe-Bronx went back in front 12-11 with the next two points, then BMCC went on a 7-0 run to stretch their lead to six, 18-12 on a kill from Edwin Martinez (Bronx, New York), and roll the rest of the way to take the first game 25-18.
Both squads exchanged the first eight points in the second set, and then the Panthers went on a 7-2 run to take an 11-6 advantage. The Express got within one twice, 12-11 and 15-14, with a 9-3 run on two kills by Jeremy Rivera-Aponte. The Panthers scored three straight points to lead by four, 18-14. The Express put on one more final charge to get within two, 20-18, before BMCC closed out the second set with a 6-0 run to win it 25-20 on a kill by Lovingood to take a two-games-to-none lead.
The Panthers registered five of the first seven points of the third set, then the Express got within one, 5-4, before BMCC put up five following points to build a six-point lead, 10-4, on a Miguel Trejo (Brooklyn, New York) kill. BMCC would grab a seven-point lead, their largest of the set four times 13-6 on a Lovingood service ace, 16-9 on a Perry Tran (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) kill, 21-14 on a Paz ace, and 22-15 on a kill by Lin Li. Monroe-Bronx put forth one more stand with a 7-1 run to get within one, 23-22, on a Jeremy Rivera-Aponte kill before Duarte and Lovingood registered back-to-back kills with Lovingood's to clinch the third set 25-22 and give BMCC the match three games to none.
Jeremy Rivera-Aponte was Monroe-Bronx's top offensive performer, with a team-high five kills and two service aces. Wilter Cuba dished out seven assists while Harold Romero and Aponte led the Express on defense with nine digs and a game-best two solo blocks.
The Panthers will look to remain perfect when they head on the road to Union County College on Saturday, March 2, at noon in Cranford, New Jersey. For more information, visit the BMCC Men's Volleyball Schedule Page.
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