AVCA Rankings | NCAA Regional Rankings Rutgers-Newark Stats | Rutgers-Newark Videos NEWARK, N.J. (April 1, 2016) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team's standing in the national and regional rankings held steady this week as the Scarlet Raiders get ready for the their final two regular-season matches of the year Friday at Juniata College and Saturday at Thiel College.
Rutgers-Newark is ranked fifth in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-15, sitting behind No. 1 SUNY New Paltz, No. 2 Springfield College, No. 3 Carthage and No. 4 Stevens. Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) rival Stevenson University currently sits seventh.
Regionally, the Scarlet Raiders are the third-ranked team in the West with a DIII record of 19-2 (at the time of the voting). New Paltz and its 23-0 DIII mark holds the top spot and Carthage is No. 2 with a in-division ledger of 20-0. Stevens is fourth when it comes to the NCAA Regional Rankings as UC Santa Cruz and Stevenson are tied for fifth. NCAA Regional Rankings are used to determine seeding and possible at-large berths for the NCAA Tournament.
Rutgers-Newark (21-2 overall, 8-2 CVC) needs to win one of its final two CVC matches this weekend to lock up the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, but will take on Marymount University in the conference semifinals next Friday in Maryland as Stevenson earned the conference's regular-season title with an 11-1 CVC record. The Scarlet Raiders split with the Mustangs and Marymount this season.
Since a loss against Marymount, Rutgers-Newark has ripped off four-straight wins, dropping just two sets in the process and knocking off a pair of nationally-ranked teams in seventh-ranked Stevenson and 13th-ranked New York University. Overall, the Scarlet Raiders are 4-1 against teams in the national top-15, boasting winning streaks of four (current), eight (to start 2016) and nine matches. When it comes to overall sets, Rutgers-Newark has a remarkable record of 66-16.
As expected, Rutgers-Newark also can be found all over the national statistical leaders, ranking third in hitting percentage (.347), fourth in winning percentage (.913), sixth in kills per set (12.66), eighth in blocks per set (2.35) and 10th in assists per set (11.57).
Individually, junior middle
Nick Kuti sits fourth in the country in blocks per set, averaging 1.20, while senior middle
Cody Chidsey is fourth nationally in hitting percentage (.461). Senior setter
Kevin McCandless is sixth in assists per set (10.49), while sophomore outside
Corey Pieper is No. 13 in aces per set with .56.
Fans can follow @ScarletRaiders on twitter for the latest on Scarlet Raider men's volleyball, and they should visit
www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com for links to follow this weekend's action live.
Rutgers-Newark in the AVCA Ranks This Year...Preseason - No. 8 (0-0)
Poll 1 - No. 5 (4-0)
Poll 2 - No. 3 (7-0)
Poll 3 - No. 5 (8-1)
Poll 4 - No. 5 (11-1)
Poll 5 - No. 4 (14-1)
Poll 6 - No. 4 (16-1)
Poll 7 - No. 5 (18-2)
Poll 8 - No. 5 (18-2)
Poll 9 - No. 5 (19-2)
Poll 10 - No. 5 (21-2)Next Poll April 5
