WAYNE, N.J. (October 18, 2016) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team clinched a berth in the upcoming New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament with a monster 3-0 win at NJAC rival William Paterson University Tuesday night. It will be the team's first appearance in the league tournament since 2006.
 
The win is the third in the NJAC and third straight overall for the Scarlet Raiders who now boast an overall record of 14-10 and an NJAC mark of 3-4. William Paterson falls to 14-10 overall and 1-6 in the league.
 
"I am ecstatic about making the conference tournament," said Head Coach Megan Knott after her team's victory. "This being my first year I wasn't sure what to expect, but I could not be happier for the girls, especially our veterans."
 
The set scores Tuesday night were 25-18, 25-21 and 25-22.
 
Rutgers-Newark hit. 183 in the match, totaling 57 points, 43 kills and 40 assists. Newark held WPU to a .079 hitting percentage and out-aced the Pioneers 7-0 while holding a 7-5 margin in blocks and a 10-2 edge in block assists.
 
"Tabby (Tabitha Davis) and Kathy (Hormaza) did an outstanding job stepping up and being leaders on the court tonight," added Knott. "I am proud of how aggressive we played and never let them get a big lead at any point."
 
Rutgers-Newark 25, WPU 18
The two teams went back and forth at the start, and after splitting the first 18 points of the match (9-9), the Pioneers scored three-straight to open a 12-9 edge. From that point, the Scarlet Raiders caught fire, outscoring the hosts 16-6 down the stretch for the 25-18 set-one win.
 
R-N ripped off nine-straight tallies to take an 18-12 edge on the service game of sophomore Analis Capobianco, getting kills from junior Karolina Kopacz, senior Tabitha Davis and sophomore Cassie Luken. Then, after seeing the lead trimmed to three (20-17), Newark ran off 5-of-6 to close it out getting a kill and solo block from Kopacz to seal the 1-0 win.
 
Rutgers-Newark 25, WPU 21
Paterson came out strong in the second, racing out to a 5-1 lead, and were able maintain the five-point margin at 16-11 midway through the set. Once again, the Scarlet Raiders stormed back, getting two kills from Luken and Davis to tie the score at 16-all.
 
The two sides traded points and were tied at 19 before the Scarlet Raiders slammed the door with 5-of-7 to take a 2-0 lead in the match. A kill from Kopacz and a solo block from sophomore Nicole Polak brought up set point, and a Kopacz winner sealed the deal.
 
Rutgers-Newark 25, WPU 22
After 25 points, the Scarlet Raiders found themselves down 14-11, but the guests came back to tie at 16, and took a three-point lead at 20-17 following an ace from Luken. A combo-block from Polak and sophomore Jess Moy helped Rutgers-Newark to its largest lead of the set at four (22-18), and a Kopacz ace brought up set point, before Moy nailed down the victory with a kill.
 
Kopacz led the Scarlet Raiders, accumulating 15 kills and a .429 hitting percentage as well as 21 assists and seven digs in what was a marvelous double-double performance for the junior. Davis picked up double-digit winners for the third-straight match, putting down 12 kills (.321), and Luken had seven winners and eight digs. Junior Sue Riley lifted 14 digs and had two aces, and senior Kathy Hormaza dished out 14 helpers, tallied six digs and a pair of service aces. Capobianco finished the match with six digs and an ace, and Polak had four kills and four blocks.
 
Rutgers-Newark has three more matches on its schedule and the Raiders return to action in The Golden Dome next Tuesday night against NJAC foe Stockton University. Prior to the match, R-N will honor its seniors in Tabitha Davis and Kathy Hormaza as part of Senior Night.