NJAC Release | 2015 Schedule
PITMAN, N.J. (August 20, 2015) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team was picked to finish sixth in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) according to a poll of the league's nine head coaches released Thursday morning.
The Scarlet Raiders improved from eight wins in 2013 to 17 wins in 2014, narrowly missing out on the NJAC playoffs. R-N did reach the 2014 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Metro/Upstate Championship, earning a victory in the quarterfinals before seeing their season end in the semis. The ECAC win was the first for the program in 13 years.
Led by fourth-year head coach
Jason Madsen, the Scarlet Raiders have produced an overall record of 40-41 during his tenure, including the 17-12 record from a season ago. Rutgers-Newark returns a pair of all-conference players from last year's version of the team in senior middle blocker
Sharee Gordon and the reigning NJAC Defensive Player of the Year in sophomore libero
Sue Riley.
Rutgers-Newark started '14 strong, winning six of their first eight matches and went 15-6 outside the conference. The Raiders were 6-4 at home, 6-5 on the road and 5-3 on neutral courts and will hope to see improvements in those marks across the board in 2015.
Richard Stockton was picked first in the poll, with Rowan University, Ramapo College, Montclair State University and Kean University rounding out the top five. William Paterson University, Rutgers University-Camden and New Jersey City University finished in spots seven, eight and nine.
The top six regular season finishers will advance to the 2015 NJAC Championship Tournament which will begin with first round action on Tuesday, November 3. The NJAC Tournament semifinals will be conducted on Thursday, November 5, and the league championship match will be played at the site of the highest remaining seed on Saturday, November 7. The winner of the NJAC Tournament receives the conference's automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament.
Rutgers-Newark opens its season in The Golden Dome Arena on September 1 versus Centenary College and the team's first conference contest will be at home against Kean on September 15.
2015 NJAC Women's Volleyball
Preseason Coaches Poll |
|
| 1. Stockton (9) |
| 2. Rowan |
| 3. Ramapo |
| 4. Montclair State (dark horse) |
| 5. Kean |
| 6. Rutgers-Newark |
| 7. William Paterson |
| 8. Rutgers-Camden |
| 9. New Jersey City |
|
| First Place Votes In Parentheses |
