Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Freshman outside hitter Jose Mendez had 13 kills in each match as Rutgers University-Newark rolled to wins over Brooklyn College, 3-0, and host Vassar College, 3-1, in Kenyon Hall. 
 
AGAINST BROOKLYN, Mendez hit .357 (13 kills, three errors, 28 attacks) as the Scarlet Raiders (9-13) notched a 25-20, 25-13, 25-17 win.  Rutgers-Newark hit .380 (37-7-79) behind the setting of sophomore Alan McCandless who notched 30 assists.
 
Freshman Jack Fredricks posted nine kills and an ace for the Raiders while sophomore middle hitter Cody Chidsey totaled 10 points on seven kills, a solo block and four blocking assists.
 
Junior outside hitter Mihail Osipov paced Brooklyn College (15-14) with 11 kills.
 
The Scarlet Raiders dominated play following an initial game which featured 12 ties and five lead changes.  Mendez, Chidsey and Fredricks had three kills apiece in the frame.
 
Rutgers-Newark hit .421 (9-1-19) in the second set and a flawless .654 (17-0-26) in the final game to take the decision in one hour.
 
AGAINST VASSAR, the Raiders clawed out a 27-29, 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 win in a match which had 24 ties and 14 lead changes.
 
Pickens hit a torrid .565 (14-1-23) to help Rutgers-Newark hit .310 (55-16-126) and got in on five of the Raider's 14 blocks against the Brewers (10-21).  Mendez added 13 kills, an ace, a pair of blocking assists and nine digs.
 
McCandless dished out 45 assists and tied Fredricks for the team high with 11 digs.
 
Chidsey had 15 points on 11 kills, a solo block and six assisted blocks while sophomore opposite Travis Mintzer posted nine kills, a solo block and five blocking assists.
 
Vassar was led by the one-two punch of senior outside hitter Joe Pyne and sophomore opposite Reno Kriz.  Pyne piled up a match-high 24.5 points on 21 kills, a pair of aces, a solo block and a blocking assist while Kriz tallied 20 points on 17 kills and six blocking assists.
 
Pyne had eight kills and Kriz, six, in the opening game as Vassar fought off the game-points to pull out the marathon win.
 
Mintzer and Chidsey finished a tightly-contested second frame with back-to-back kills to level the match despite seven more kills by Pyne.
 
The Raiders bounced back from an early 3-1 deficit to dominate play in the third set behind four kills and an ace by Mendez.
 
In the final game, the Raiders rode balanced scoring to end the match.  Chidsey had four kills while Pickens, Mendez and Mintzer added three apiece.
 
Rutgers-Newark closes out it NCAA Division I era with four consecutive EIVA home matches starting on Wednesday against Sacred Heart in The Golden Dome at 7 p.m.  Harvard, Saint Francis and Penn State come to Newark over the next two weeks.