Highlights | Postgame Audio with Coach Trevino

NEWARK, N.J. (February 26, 2016) - The fourth-ranked Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team rolled to a 3-0 sweep of 15th-ranked Juniata College Friday night in The Golden Dome Arena, running its winning streak to seven matches and improving to 15-1 on the season.

The Scarlet Raiders won by set scores of 25-21, 25-18 and 25-16, getting better with each point. Rutgers-Newark is now 4-1 in the Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC), and Juniata drops to 2-3 in the CVC and 6-7 overall. During its current streak, R-N has won 21 of the 22 sets it has played, tallying six clean sweeps.

After a back-and-forth start, the Scarlet Raiders took control of the match and never let go, leading wire-to-wire in the third set and after taking a 4-3 edge in the second.

The Scarlet Raiders tallied 14 blocks as a team compared to just six for Juniata, recording seven aces, 32 kills (.323), 53 points, 30 assists and 18 digs. The Eagles had 36 points, 26 kills, four aces, 22 helpers and 17 digs, hitting .075 in the match.

Leading the Newark blockers were senior middle Cody Chidsey (seven), senior setter Kevin McCandless (six), junior middle Nick Kuti (five), senior opposite Travis Mintzer (four) and sophomore outside Corey Pieper (four). Pieper led the attack with 10 kills (.320), and Mintzer had eight. Chidsey hammered home six and hit a ridiculous .625, with Fredricks and Kuti combining for seven. McCandless dished out 28 assists, and senior libero Quocmy Nguyen had a team-high six digs with four other teammates pocketing at least two scoops. Kuti led the servers with three aces and Pieper had two as the Scarlet Raiders put together a dominating all-around performance.

Rutgers-Newark 25, Juniata 21
The Scarlet Raiders used an early 4-1 run to open a 7-5 lead, but a back-and-forth first continued as Juniata scored 5-of-6 to take a 10-8 lead.

Three-straight from the hosts put R-N back up one (11-10), and the two teams traded points before heading to the first timeout of the match tied at 13-all.

Out of the break, Juniata took a 15-14 margin before the Scarlet Raiders ripped off four-straight points featuring two absolute hammers from Mintzer to open an 18-15 lead and force a Juniata timeout.

The Eagles got within one at 21-20, but the Scarlet Raiders used a 5-1 run to slam the door, using a kill from Mintzer to close out the set.

Rutgers-Newark 25, Juniata 18
Rutgers-Newark scored 7-of-11 to start the second, getting some help from four Eagle errors, and a block (McCandless and Chidsey) followed by a kill from Pieper made it 10-6 Scarlet Raiders after Juniata had trimmed the lead to two. A combo rejection from Chidsey, Pieper and McCandless and a Chidsey kill came next, upping the R-N lead to six points at 12-6.

The Eagles cut the lead to three (18-15), but kills from Mintzer and Pieper pushed the edge back to a comfortable five (20-15), and the Scarlet Raiders rolled the rest of the way to the 25-18 set victory.

Rutgers-Newark 25, Juniata 16
Two Juniata errors, a McCandless-Kuti block and a Chidsey ace gave Rutgers-Newark an early 4-0 lead in the third, and moments later the lead swelled to seven thanks to a solo block from Kuti and a combo block from Mintzer and Kuti.

Juniata battled briefly - getting within five points at 10-5 - but a 7-0 run highlighted by two Kuti aces and all-around excellent defensive play sealed the Scarlet Raider win.

Junior Kyle Seeley led Juniata with eight kills as four Eagles had five or more.

Rutgers-Newark will return to action inside The Golden Dome Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. when it hosts CVC rival Thiel College. Fans unable to make the match can follow live via links www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com.