PROVIDENCE, R.I. (October 2, 2015) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team split a pair of matches on Day 1 of the Wildcat Classic in Providence, R.I. The Scarlet Raiders opened with a  3-1 victory over the University of Southern Maine but were defeated in their second match by Bridgewater State University, 3-1.
 
Rutgers-Newark is now 9-4 on the season.
 
The Scarlet Raiders will square off against Rhode Island College (12 p.m.) and host J&W (2 p.m.) on the second and final day of the Wildcat Classic.
 
Day 1 saw senior Sharee Gordon put down a total of 24 kills, while freshman Cassie Luken had eight service aces. Sophomore setter Nathalie Breining had 69 assists, with junior Kathy Hormaza totaling 37 digs.
 
Please note there were no play-by-plays for use in these recaps.
 
R-N 3, Southern Maine 1
The Scarlet Raiders picked up their ninth win of the season in their first match of the tournament, downing Southern Maine by set scores of 21-25, 25-23, 25-15 and 25-15.
 
After dropping the first set, R-N seemed to get things going, battling to tie things at 1-1 before rolling by 10 in sets three and four.
 
Rutgers hit just .139 in the first set, but the Scarlet Raiders bounced back to hit .250 in the second, a lofty .412 in the third and .148 in the fourth. They finished with 47 kills and 17 errors, swinging .240 overall. Rutgers-Newark also picked up 13 aces, nine blocks and 63 digs on the defensive side of the net.
 
Gordon led the Scarlet Raiders with 14 kills (.458) and six blocks, with junior Tabitha Davis tallying nine kills and two blocks. Hormaza picked up seven kills.
 
Breining registered 36 of the team's 39 assists, pocketing three aces and nine digs as well. Luken (five) and freshman Analis Capobianco (three) combined for eight aces, while sophomore Sue Riley and Hormaza each had 17 digs. Capobianco was also in double digits when it came to scoops, recording 10. Luken added seven kills (.429) for the Scarlet Raiders.
 
Bridgewater St. 3, R-N 1
The Bears won the first set 25-19 and took control of the match by winning an incredibly tightly contested second 28-26, but the Scarlet Raiders came back for a convincing 25-15 victory to force a fourth set. BSU sealed the match with a 25-22 victory in the third.
 
The Scarlet Raiders hit .197, with Bridgewater converting at a .211 clip. R-N's best set was clearly the third as it finished with 11 kills and just one error (.588). BSU ended with a 65-54 edge in total points, a 49-43 margin in kills and an 8-2 advantage in blocks.
 
Gordon once again led the Raider attack, finishing with 10 kills (.280), while Hormaza tallied eight, Luken had six and Davis notched five. Luken and Capobianco again led R-N in the service game, picking up three more aces apiece, while Hormaza had a team-high 20 digs. Riley (10) and Breining (nine) were also solid on defense, and Breining dished out 33 helpers in the second match.