PURCHASE, N.Y. (October 24, 2015) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team split a tri-match hosted at Manhattanville College Saturday afternoon, routing Sarah Lawrence College by a score of 3-0 and falling by the same score to the host Valiants.
 
The Scarlet Raiders move to 11-14 overall, SLC drops to 2-21 and M'Ville improves to 16-9. Rutgers-Newark returns to action next Tuesday and Thursday in The Golden Dome Arena – hosting William Paterson University in its New Jersey Athletic Conference finale and Lehman College for Senior Night.
 
Rutgers-Newark 3, Sarah Lawrence 0
The Scarlet Raiders were able to snap a six-match skid in the opener, overpowering Sarah Lawrence by set scores of 25-9, 25-15 and 25-9.  R-N hit .180 in the match, including a match-high .269 in the third set. The Raiders racked up 47 points, 33 kills, 10 aces, four blocks, 30 assists and 56 digs, holding distinct advantages across the board.
 
Junior Kathy Hormaza (.286) and senior Sharee Gordon (.467) each had a game-high eight kills, with Gordon tallying four blocks and Hormaza getting eight digs. Junior Tabitha Davis pocketed six kills, three aces and two blocks, while sophomore setter Nathalie Breining had 24 assists, two aces, eight digs and a block. Sophomore Sue Riley (13) and freshman Analis Capobianco (11) each crossed into double figures in digs, while freshman Jess Moy tallied five kills and four digs.
 
R-N used an 8-0 run to turn a 3-3 tie into an 11-3 lead in the first set, using kills from Gordon, Moy and Hormaza and a pair of aces from Davis, and after a point from Sarah Lawrence, Capobianco's serve sparked the Raiders on a 5-0 rally to seal the set.
 
After falling behind 4-1 in the second, Rutgers ripped off eight of the next nine tallies for a 9-5 margin. Sarah Lawrence kept it close, but a 16-13 R-N lead ballooned to eight (21-13) on the serve of sophomore Rebecca Ford as the Scarlet Raiders went on top 2-0.
 
SLC jumped out to leads of 4-0 and 6-3 before a 6-0 Raider rally gave R-N a lead it would not give back. Ford served with Davis getting a kill and Gordon getting a pair of block assists. Davis' serve later sparked a 5-0 run to help Rutgers to a 14-7 margin as it closed the set on a 16-2 rally to seal the 3-0 victory.
 
Manhattanville 3, Rutgers-Newark 0
The host Valiants were too much for the Scarlet Raiders in the finale, rolling to a 25-10 win in the opening set before squeaking out the second (25-23) and third (26-24) by the minimum two points.
 
In the first, things went back-and-forth before the Valiants exploded for a 16-1 run to close out the set, turning a 9-9 tie into a 25-10 final.
 
Manhattanville took a 4-1 lead to start the second, but hot serving from freshman Cassie Luken pushed the Raiders in front at 5-4. The Valiants went back on top 12-8, but a block from Luken, an ace from Luken and a block from Moy, propelled R-N to a 15-14 lead. The end of the set was a see-saw battle, and Manhattanville prevailed, using a 4-0 run to turn a 22-20 deficit into a 24-22 edge and closing it out on a Rutgers-Newark error.
 
After the Valiants jumped out to a 7-1 edge to start the third, R-N responded with a 5-0 rally to get within one on the serve of Hormaza and kills from Luken and Moy. The Raiders were unable to get over the hump until they ripped off 6-of-7 points, turning a three-point deficit into a 22-20 lead. Gordon had a block, with Moy, Hormaza (two) and freshman Bryanna Urbaez all notching kills. Manhattanville responded to score three straight to take the lead back, and despite R-N getting one shot at set point, the Valiants closed out the 3-0 victory behind a set score of 26-24.
 
Moy (eight), Hormaza (six) and Luken (four) led the Scarlet Raider offense, with Luken adding four aces and two blocks to her line. Davis had four blocks and Gordon three, while Breining tallied 17 assists. Riley (19), Hormaza (15) and Davis (15) paced Rutgers in digs as the team totaled 66 in the match. R-N hit .051 in the finale, picking up 25 assists, seven blocks, and 27 kills. M'Ville finished with 67 digs, 43 helpers, five blocks and 44 hammers.