FAIRFIELD, CT – Junior middle blockers Jon Keller and Kenneth Stumbaugh combined for 49 points to help rally Rutgers-Newark to a thrilling 3-2 EIVA Hay win over Sacred Heart in the Pitt Center. Set scores were 23-30, 30-21, 28-30, 30-20, 23-21 in the 2-hour, 10-minute marathon.
 
NCAA Box Score & Play-by-Play

Keller had 20 kills, two solo blocks and six assisted blocks for 25 points while Stumbaugh, who gave the Raiders (6-5, EIVA Hay 4-0) the final go-ahead point in set five with a kill, finished with 16 kills, four solo blocks, six assisted blocks and a service ace for 24 points. 

Sophomore setter Jeff Zornig registered a career-high 68 assists while feeding the Raiders to a season-best .344 hitting percentage. He had six kills in eight swings without an error to help his own cause by hitting .750 while adding six digs, a solo block and five assisted blocks as Rutgers-Newark posted a team season-high 19 blocks. 

Keller hit .552 (20-4-29) and Stumbaugh .560 (16-2-25) to lead the onslaught, but they got plenty of help. Freshman Austin Pappas hammered down a career-high 16 kills to go along with nine digs, six assisted blocks, four assists and an ace. Classmate Marcin Midura added a dozen kills, six digs and an ace while rookie outside Eduardo Hernandez contributed a career-high eight kills. 

Barry Smith hammered down a match-high 24 kills for Sacred Heart while adding four aces, a solo block and two assisted blocks. Kalani Efstathiou had 16 kills, four aces and nine digs for the Pioneers while setter Tim Sadowski tallied 54 assists, four kills, two solo blocks, two assisted blocks and an ace. 

In the fifth set, there were 13 ties and three lead changes before a Stumbaugh kill put the Raiders up 22-21. A Pioneer attack error ended the night. Keller notched six kills with a solo block and an assisted block in the final frame while Stumbaugh had four kills on six swings without an error while chipping in a solo block. 

After Sacred Heart (7-6, EIVA Hay 0-3) hit .353 to take the opening set, Hernandez had five kills with one error on six swings to help the Raiders hit .464 in the second frame to even the ledger. Keller had four kills and no errors on six attacks while Midura also had four kills on just seven swings. 

In the third set, a kill by Pappas and an ace by Midura leveled the score at 28-28 before Sacred Heart took a 2-1 lead on a kill by Efstathiou and a Raider attack error. 

Pappas had five kills without an error on seven attacks while getting in to two of the Raiders' five blocks in the fourth set as Rutgers-Newark hit .542 to muscle its way back into the fray. 

It was Rutgers-Newark's third straight win, and four in its last five matches. It was the first five-set match this season for the team.

The Raiders will get no time to enjoy their victory. Rutgers-Newark takes on George Mason in Fairfax, Virginia, tomorrow at 2 p.m. in a non-conference EIVA tilt.