NEWARK, NJ – Rutgers-Newark battled a nationally-ranked opponent for five sets for the second night in a row, but No. 15 Saint Francis edged the Scarlet Raiders, 28-30, 23-30, 30-25, 30-21, 15-13, in The Golden Dome Classic finale.
Lewis 3, NJIT 0
Saint Francis 3, Rutgers-Newark 2
Rutgers-Newark placed senior middle hitter
Jon Keller and junior setter
Liran Shapiro on the all-tournament squad. Keller and junior opposite
Dane Mulligan tallied 16 points apiece to lead the Raiders. Keller had 14 kills, two aces and seven digs while Mulligan posted 15 kills and an ace. Shapiro piled up 51 assists while dumping in six kills with no errors on seven attacks.
Senior outside hitter and all-tournament choice Jordan Varee paced the Red Flash with 20 kills, five aces, a solo block and a pair of assisted blocks. Saint Francis (5-1) got 17 kills and an ace from senior outside hitter Nick Rivett who was also an all-classic selection. Sophomore setter Ryan Williams collected 56 assists for the Red Flash while senior outside hitter Alex Fortney chipped in 15 kills.
Classic MVP Nathan Klaas hit .667 with seven kills and one error on seven swings while playing only in the opening set of a 3-0 Lewis win over NJIT. Set scores were 30-19, 30-22, 30-23) for the No. 14 ranked Flyers who got 10 kills and an ace from freshman opposite Ian Karbiener in just two sets as Lewis (3-0) used all 16 of its players. Senior setter Mike Iandolo, who notched 29 assists in two sets, joined Klaas on the all-classic team.
Making the all-classic squad from NJIT (0-4) was freshman outside hitter Christian Puszies who hammered down 11 kills and added an assisted block for the Highlanders. Senior outside hitter Charles Bell totaled 10.5 points with seven kills, an ace, a solo block and three assisted blocks.
Rutgers-Newark opens its EIVA Hay slate with a trip to NYU on Wednesday night. Match time is 7 p.m. in the Coles Sports Center.
2010 GOLDEN DOME ALL-CLASSIC TEAM
MVP: Nathan Klaas (Lewis); Mike Iandolo (Lewis); Jordan Varee (Saint Francis); Nick Rivett (Saint Francis);
Jon Keller (Rutgers-Newark); Liran Shapiro (Rutgers-Newark); Christian Puszies (NJIT).
