NEWARK, NJ – Senior right side Kenny Rienecker (Glendale, NY/Academy of American Studies) paced a balance Rutgers-Newark attack with 17 kills as the Scarlet Raiders swept New York University, 30-25, 30-28, 30-23, in The Golden Dome to seize early control of the EIVA Hay race.
NCAA Box Score & Play-by-Play
The win leaves the Scarlet Raiders (4-5, EIVA Hay 3-0) as the only team in the five-team division without a league loss. The Violets (3-10, EIVA Hay 2-1) dropped into sole possession of second place.
Junior outside hitter Nate Stott (Clovis, CA/Clovis) added 14 kills, four digs and a pair of assisted blocks for 15 points while senior outside hitter Derek Wolfe (Orlando, FL/Timbercreek) hit .429 with 11 kills, an ace and four digs.
Junior middle hitter Jon Keller (Reading, PA/Exeter Township) boosted the Raider attack numbers by pounding down eight kills in just 10 swings without and error as sophomore setter Liran Shapiro (Tel Aviv, Israel/Hoff HaSharon) posted 45 assists and nine digs to help Rutgers-Newark hit .333 (55-18-111).
Senior outside hitter Devin Zolnowski (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) paced the Violets with 14 kills, seven assisted blocks and an ace while junior outside hitter Michael Ferragnio (Irwin, PA/Norwin) tallied 11 kills and five digs. Senior setter Ilan Goldstein (Pacific Palisades, CA/Brentwood) tied for the match high with nine digs and was credited with 37 assists.
NYU middle blockers Luke Hamlet (Long Beach, CA/Long Beach) and Fran Hodgson (Surf City, NJ/Southern Regional), who each had seven kills apiece, helped the Violets forge a 9.0-4.5 edge in blocking by combining for eight blocking assists.
The Raiders dominated the opening frame, hitting .467 (18-4-30) with Rienecker, Stott and Wolfe posting five kills apiece. Zolnowski kept the Violets within striking distance with six kills, an ace and three assisted blocks.
In set two, Rienecker and Stott had five kills apiece as the Raiders held off NYU which was paced by Zolnowski with five kills and three assisted blocks. After a Wolfe kill gave the Rutgers-Newark a 27-24 lead, NYU used a service error, a block by Hamlet and Zolnowski, and a Raider attack error to pull to even at 27-27. A Rienecker kill and an attack error by NYU brought the Raiders to set point before an R-N service error set the stage for the frame ending kill by Rienecker.
In the third set, back-to-back kills by Wolfe and Rienecker put Rutgers-Newark up for good at 12-10, but NYU stayed on the Raiders' heels until 18-17. Wolfe and Rienecker started a 3-0 spurt with back-to-back kills to provide a little breathing room. Rienecker finished with seven kills in the set, committing no errors on 11 swings while Hamlet led the Violets with four kills.
