Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 COBLESKILL, N.Y. - Rutgers University-Newark is guaranteed a winning season after sweeping past SUNYIT and SUNY Cobleskill on the opening night of the SUNY Cobleskill Invitational.
The Scarlet Raiders (16-9, NJAC 2-5) rolled to a 25-20, 25-12, 25-12, win over a SUNYIT team which downed Rutgers-Newark in five sets in September before upending the host team, 25-22, 25-20, 25-13, in the Bouck Hall Ballroom.
Freshman setter
Nathalie Breining notched 25 assists as the Raiders hit a blistering .386 (28 kills, 6 errors, 57 attacks) in the opening match against the Wildcats (15-16).
Sophomore right side
Tabitha Davis had nine kills without an error on 14 swings to hit .643 while junior middle blocker
Sharee Gordon hit .615 with eight kills and no errors on 13 attacks to pace the Raider attack. Davis added three aces, a solo block, three blocking assists and six digs to her total while Gordon posted four solo blocks and a blocking assist.
Freshman outside hitter
Karolina Kopacz tallied 10 points on seven kills and three aces while freshman libero
Sue Riley roped three aces while making a team-high 13 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist
Kathy Hormaza totaled 10 digs.
Sophomore right side Emma Larson paced SUNYIT with seven kills and an ace.
In the win over Cobleskill, Breining distributed 31 assists while Gordon posted a match-high 16.5 points with 14 kills, a solo block and three blocking assists. Gordon hit .476 (14-4-21) as the team hit a solid .295 behind Breining who returned to action after missing four matches with an ankle sprain.
Kopacz tallied eight kills and an ace while Riley came up with a match-high 15 digs, an ace and a kill. Freshman outside hitter
Sydney Tuman posted six kills while Davis made 10 digs.
Junior middle hitter Melissa Spears led the Fighting Tigers (11-18) with 13 kills and a solo block.
Rutgers-Newark takes on Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts at 1 p.m. on Saturday to complete play in the two-day invitational.
The 16 wins are the most for a Raider women's volleyball team since 2006 when Rutgers-Newark finished 23-12.
