NEWARK, NJ – Rutgers-Newark senior middle blocker Rachel Witt posted match-highs of 24.5 points, 19 kills and five aces, but Ramapo College escaped The Golden Dome with a 3-2 New Jersey Athletic Conference win.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Ramapo freshman outside hitter Cathryn Smart had three of her team-high 16 kills in the fifth set as the Roadrunners held off Rutgers-Newark, 25-20, 25-22, 16-25, 17-25, 15-11, in the 2-hour and 5-minute marathon.

The Scarlet Raiders led in the early going in each of the first two sets before the Roadrunners rallied to take a 2-0 lead.

Junior outside hitter Paulina Walega hammered down eight of her 11 kills in games three and four as the Raiders took control of the contest with back-to-back easy wins.  Walega finished with 25 digs.

In game five, Witt had four of the Raiders' five kills but the Roadrunners got kills from five different players in the deciding frame.

Senior right side Stephanie Touzan added a dozen kills for the Scarlet Raiders (4-4, NJAC 0-1) while junior setter Jen Mendoza tallied 42 assists and 20 digs.  Junior outside hitter Ula Nieznalska chipped in four kills, two aces, a solo block and 18 digs.

Ramapo (5-1, NJAC 1-0) got 13 kills apiece from senior outside hitter Julia Tuzio and sophomore outside hitter Brittney Jemas.

Rutgers-Newark plays Gwynedd-Mercy, Baruch and St. Joseph's LI in the Roadrunner Invitational at Ramapo on Saturday.  The first match begins at 10 a.m.

The Raiders are back in The Golden Dome on Monday for a non-conference match against Hunter before returning to NJAC play against Rowan on Tuesday.  Both home matches begin at 7 p.m.