Season Stats | Schedule
Live Stats | VideoSTEVENSON, Md. (February 5, 2016) - The third-ranked team in the nation - Rutgers University-Newark - will open Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) play Saturday night at 13th-ranked Stevenson University.
The Scarlet Raiders are coming off a non-conference victory over geographic rival New Jersey City University on Tuesday night (3-1), and Saturday's contest against the Mustangs will be the third for Rutgers-Newark against a nationally-ranked opponent. R-N defeated then-No. 2 Stevens Institute of Technology in the 2016 opener and beat then-No. 3 Nazareth College on January 29.
Stevenson boasts a record of 3-2 and was in the AVCA Preseason Poll before dropping out, and then re-entered the nation's elite Tuesday. The Mustangs are coming off back-to-back 3-0 wins last Saturday against Medaille College and Elmira College.
Rutgers-Newark and Stevenson are familiar opponents after meeting three times a season ago, and the Mustangs will certainly be ready to go Saturday after suffering a trio of defeats at the hands of the Raiders. R-N won 3-2 at Stevenson, before a pair of 3-0 sweeps in Newark inside The Golden Dome Arena. The second of the sweeps was in the CVC Tournament title match, sending Rutgers-Newark to the NCAA Division III Championship
Rutgers-Newark 3, Stevenson 2 - March 6, 2015Rutgers-Newark 3, Stevenson 0 - March 27, 2015Rutgers-Newark 3, Stevenson 0 - April 11, 2015 Numbers-wise, Rutgers-Newark can be found littered all over the national statistical rankings in addition to its program-best No. 3 team rank according to the AVCA. The Scarlet Raiders are one of five teams with a perfect won-loss record, and the team's 12.87 kills per set is third in the country. The .338 hitting percentage is fifth nationally and R-N's 11.58 assists per set checks in sixth nationally.
Rutgers-Newark has been extremely well-rounded, getting major contributions from up and down the lineup, but the Raiders have several players in the top-50 in a variety of metrics. Senior setter
Kevin McCandless is sixth nationally in assists per set (10.42), and junior middle
Nick Kuti is No. 10 in blocks per set at 1.13. Senior middle
Cody Chidsey is No. 10 in hitting percentage (.425), with Kuti sitting No. 26 (.350) and senior opposite
Travis Mintzer at No. 30 (.344). Sophomore
Corey Pieper sits 42nd and 48th in points per set (3.60) and kills per set (2.97) to round out the individual standouts.
Saturday's match at Stevenson is slated for a 7 p.m. start. The Scarlet Raiders return home Tuesday night, February 9, hosting Cairn University in The Golden Dome Arena.
