NEWARK, NJ (March 4, 2008) – Sophomore outside hitter Nate Stott paced the Raiders with 13 kills, but NYU posted a 3-1 EIVA Hay win over Rutgers-Newark in The Golden Dome. Game scores were 36-34, 26-30, 30-26, 30-19.
NCAA Statistics
Sophomore middle blocker Kenneth Stumbaugh and freshman outside hitter Grant Metheny add 11 kills apiece. Stumbaugh had a team-high 15.5 points with a solo blocks, five assisted blocks and a service ace.
Freshman setter Jeff Zornig chalked up 51 assists – including 31 through the first two games when the Raiders were hitting a sizzling .412 as a team.
RAIDER VISION HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
Sophomore opposite Eric Chakeen hit .458 with 17 kills, a service ace and three assisted blocks to pace NYU.
The Violets (15-4, EIVA Hay 51) turned back a Scarlet Raider team (5-11, Hay 3-4) which hit .433 in the opening game to gain a pivotal edge in the match and earn a split of the team's regular-season series. NYU, which upended league-leading Springfield on Saturday, moved up to #3 in the CSTV/AVCA Division III Coaches Poll this week.
Junior outside hitter Devin Zolnowski chipped in 16 kills, two aces and four assisted blocks to post a match high 20 points for the Violets while junior setter Ilan Goldstein notched 53 assists. Senior outside hitter Willy McFarland netted 14 points with a dozen kills and two aces for NYU while senior middle blocker Jonathan Wintermeyer added 15points with 11 kills, an ace two solo blocks and two assisted blocks.
But while Rutgers-Newark cooled off to hit just .067 over the final two games, NYU picked up the pace, attacking at a .360 pace to claim the victory.
In game one, Metheny had seven kills and the Raiders made five blocks to NYU's one, but four service aces proved the difference for the Violets. After the lead bounced back and forth seven times and the score was tied 19 times, a Chakeen kill and followed by an attack error lifted NYU to the win.
In game two, the Raiders broke a 25-25 tie with a kill by Stumbaugh and an NYU attack error to go ahead for good. A Stott kill gave Rutgers-Newark a 28-26 lead before a block by Stumbaugh and freshman right side Nick Johnson brought the Raiders to game point. An attack error by the Violets evened the match.
In game three, Chakeen was a perfect six kills on as many swings as NYU hit .400 to take charge of the match. The game featured five ties and three lead changes before a Raider service error and a block by Zolnowski and freshman middle blocker Francis Hodgson gave NYU the lead for good at 25-23. Rutgers-Newark trimmed the lead to one twice before back-to-back attack errors gave the Violets a 29-25 edge. A Wintermeyer kill put NYU up 2-1 in games.
In game four, NYU hit .320 with Hodgson getting four kills while an exhausted Raider team committed a dozen attack errors to end the night.
