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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (April 21, 2016) – Fourth-seeded and fifth-ranked Rutgers University-Newark and fifth-seeded and fourth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology will battle in the marquee 'Elite 8' matchup of the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship Friday at 3 p.m.
The match will be played in Kidera Gymnasium (Shults Center) on the Campus of Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y.
Rutgers-Newark and Stevens played back in mid-January in the first match of the season for both teams. The Ducks were coming off their 2015 NCAA National Championship and Rutgers-Newark was coming off a trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals. The Scarlet Raiders swept that match 3-0 in The Golden Dome Arena, but they know four months have passed and both teams have a slightly different look.
Rutgers-Newark 3, Stevens 0 - January 16, 2016
"I think we can take away a few things from the mid-January match, but I also think both teams are very different now," said Head Men's Volleyball Coach
Pedro Trevino. "It should be a great match, and we definitely need to come ready to play."
Rutgers-Newark boasts a record of 24-3 overall and has been ranked in the top-10 all year long. A team that has three separate winning streaks of at least seven matches this season, the Scarlet Raiders have yet to drop two matches in a row in 2016.
Stevens will bring in a record of 28-6 into action Friday afternoon after falling in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) final to No. 1 SUNY New Paltz. Prior to the loss to the Hawks, the Ducks had won 16-of-17 matches.
Three Stevens players were named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Americans in senior Tim Ferriter, senior Chris Vaughan and junior Gabe Shankweiler. Ferriter became just the third person in AVCA history to earn first-team All-America honors in four-straight years, with Vaughan and Shankweiler picking up the distinction for the second time in their excellent careers in Hoboken. All three standouts were important pieces to the team's 2015 championship run.
Rutgers-Newark has its own trio of AVCA All-Americans in senior middle
Cody Chidsey, junior outside
Jack Fredricks and senior setter
Kevin McCandless. Chidsey and Fredricks were second-teamers, while McCandless received honorable mention All-America accolades.
As a team, the Scarlet Raiders rank third nationally in hitting percentage (.338), fourth in winning percentage (.889), seventh in kills per set (12.57), 10th in assists per set (11.54) and 10th in blocks per set (2.33). Individually, Chidsey sits fourth in the nation in hitting percentage at .449, McCandless is sixth in assists per set (10.54) and junior middle
Nick Kuti is No. 10 in blocks per set (1.11). Sophomore outside
Corey Pieper is 10th in aces per set (.56), and three Scarlet Raiders are in the top-50 in hitting percentage in Chidsey, Kuti (.351) and Fredricks (.327).
An incredibly balanced team, the Scarlet Raiders have five players with 175 or more kills this year – Kuti (177), Chidsey (197), senior opposite
Travis Mintzer (207), Pieper (240) and Fredricks (257). Fredricks (2.79) and Mintzer (2.72) led the Scarlet Raiders in kills per set.
Rutgers-Newark Stats | Rutgers-Newark Schedule
Stevens Stats | Stevens Schedule
Stevens brings several impressive marks into Friday's quarterfinal matchup, sitting sixth in winning percentage, seventh in blocks per set and eighth in hitting percentage. Junior Thomas Burrell is the top-ranked individual, checking in at No. 7 in blocks per set, and Ferriter is ninth nationally in points per set.
The winner of Friday's match will advance to face the winner of top-seeded New Paltz and Wentworth Institute of Technology on Saturday.
