NEWARK, N.J. (April 14, 2015) – The New Jersey Institute of Technology men's volleyball team defeated Rutgers-Newark by a score of 3-0 Tuesday night in The Golden Dome Arena.
 
Rutgers-Newark falls to 21-9 overall, while NJIT improves to 10-11. The match was originally scheduled for January 27 but was snowed out, forcing the match to be played as the final contest of the regular season for Rutgers-Newark. It also served as a final tune-up prior to the 2015 NCAA Division III Championship that the Scarlet Raiders will take part in beginning Saturday at 6:30 p.m. when they host Endicott College in an opening round match in The Golden Dome.
 
NJIT won by set scores of 25-17, 25-16 and 25-21, as R-N head coach Pedro Trevino was able to get a good look at his bench throughout the match.
 
Leading the Scarlet Raiders was senior Alex Barnhard with five kills and three digs. Freshman Francisco Bruno also had five kills and hit .500, adding five digs as well, while freshman Corey Pieper had 15 assists, four kills and four digs. Rutgers-Newark hit .121 in the match, tallying 23 assists, 22 digs, three block solos and two block assists.
 
Senior Chris Kaepernick and junior TJ Jurko led NJIT with 11 kills apiece as the Highlanders hit .425 on the match.
 
Leading 8-7 in the first, NJIT went on an 8-2 run to take a 16-9 margin before taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
Rutgers-Newark pushed the Highlanders early in the second, erasing a 4-2 deficit to tie things at six following a kill from junior middle Cody Chidsey. Things remained tight before a 5-0 run allowed the guests to turn a 10-10 tie into a 15-10 edge, eventually winning set two, 25-16.
 
After falling behind early, Rutgers-Newark came back to tie the third set at 11 after an NJIT error and kill from freshman outside Justin Sandy.  NJIT was able to take a 16-13 lead, but a young group of Raiders fought within one on the back of another error and a Pieper kill, however, the Raiders were never able to get over the hump and eventually fell by the 3-0 final.
 
The Scarlet Raiders will now turn their full attention to the NCAA Tournament. Saturday's match against Endicott will mark the first time in Rutgers-Newark history it will be hosting an NCAA Tournament contest in The Golden Dome Arena. Opening serve is set for 6:30 p.m.
 
General admission is $6 and the cost for students/seniors is $4. Anyone with a valid Rutgers-Newark ID can watch the match free of charge and fans unable to make the trip can follow all the action live via www.RutgersNewarkAthletics.com.