NEWARK, NJ – Sophomore outside hitter Nate Stott, junior right side Kenny Rienecker and sophomore middle blocker Kenneth Stumbaugh notched nine kills apiece to lead a balanced Rutgers-Newark attack in a 3-0 EIVA Hay win over Sacred Heart in The Golden Dome.
NCAA Statistics
The Scarlet Raiders (5-10, EIVA Hay 3-2) hit .360 behind the setting of freshman Jeff Zornig who regisitered 35 assists, a serve ace, three kills, three assisted blocks and seven digs as Rutgers-Newark won 30-18, 30-28, 30-19. The win gave the Raiders a sweep of the home-and-home series this season.
Sophomore middle blocker Jon Keller notched seven kills on .389 hitting and added three assisted blocks and an ace for Rutgers-Newark. Rienecker finished with 12 points, adding two solo blocks, two assisted blocks and seven digs to hit totals. Stumbaugh had four assisted blocks to net 11.0 points while Stott piled up a match-high 13.0 points with two aces, a solo block, two assisted blocks and seven digs.
RAIDER VISION HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
Sacred Heart (2-8, EIVA Hay 0-4) was led by junior middle hitter BJ Smith with eight kills and two aces. Sophomore outside hitter Scott Grandpre added seven kills and two aces for the Pioneers who also got 25 assists and an ace from freshman setter Roger Parent.
In game one, freshman outside hitter Grant Metheny served the first eight points for Rutgers-Newark and the Pioneers never recovered. Sacred Heart trimmed the lead to three twice before the Raiders pulled away for an easy opening win. Rutgers-Newark committed just four attack errors while hitting .370 for the game while getting two aces from Stott. The Pioneers hit .000 as Metheny had five of the Raiders' 15 digs in the frame. Metheny finished the night with eight kills, two aces, seven digs and two assisted blocks.
In game two, Grandpre had four kills and two aces as the Pioneers challenged the Raiders in a game which featured 12 ties and two lead changes. However, Stott tallied six kills and Rienecker, five, to spell the difference. Sacred Heart got a 28-28 tie on a service error by Stumbaugh, but an attack error followed by a ball handling violation on the Pioneers allowed Rutgers-Newark to escape.
In game three, Stumbaugh hammered down five kills in as many swings and got in on two blocks as Rutgers-Newark broke away from an 11-11 tie by hitting .667.
Rutgers-Newark hosts Springfield tomorrow night in The Golden Dome at 7 p.m. in an EIVA Hay contest while Sacred Heart will play at NYU at 2 o'clock on Sunday in a conference match.
