HUNTINGDON, Pa. (April 1, 2016) – The fifth-ranked Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team improved to 22-2 overall and 9-2 in the Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) with a five-set comeback victory over Juniata College Friday night.
 
The Scarlet Raiders move an unheard of 20 matches over .500 on the season and bring a five-match winning streak into Saturday afternoon's regular-season finale at Thiel College.
 
Rutgers-Newark also locks up the No. 2 seed in the CVC Tournament and will take on Marymount University in the conference semifinals next Friday in Maryland at Stevenson University.
 
After falling behind 0-2 in the match (21-25, 22-25), the Scarlet Raiders battled back taking set three, 25-19, set four, 25-22, and set No. 5, 15-12 to shock a raucous Juniata crowd.
 
In the fifth and deciding set, the Scarlet Raiders went on a 4-0 run sparked by a kill from senior opposite Travis Mintzer to open a 6-2 lead and led 8-4 at the switch thanks to a kill from senior middle Cody Chidsey.
 
Juniata closed within two at 8-6, but a kill from junior outside Jack Fredricks and a solo block from junior middle Nick Kuti put the Scarlet Raiders back up four, needing just five points to complete the improbable comeback.
 
The hosts would get within two on two more occasions (13-11, 14-12), but Rutgers-Newark had the answers, getting a kill from Chidsey for match point and a kill from Fredricks to close it out.
 
A 4-1 run for the Eagles late in the first set helped the hosts to a 1-0 lead, and after the Scarlet Raiders went on top 11-8 early in the second, a 7-2 rally for Juniata made it 15-13. R-N tied at 15, but 4-of-6 late for the Eagles made it 2-0.
 
The Scarlet Raiders began their comeback in the third, using a 4-0 spurt to go on top 7-4, and after falling behind by two (14-12), a 6-1 rally featuring kills from Fredricks, senior setter Kevin McCandless and sophomore outside Corey Pieper made it 18-15. Juniata could get no closer than two the rest of the set, and R-N extended, stealing away some of the momentum in the process.
 
In the beginning stages of the fourth set, the Eagles looked to have the momentum back in their corner, racing out to a 3-0 lead, but the fifth-ranked Raiders tied things at six and took their first lead after Chidsey pocketed a big ace to make it 8-7.
 
The two sides would trade points for most of the fourth, but Rutgers-Newark did what it had to late to even the match at 2-all as a Chidsey hammer and Juniata error sent the guests to a 25-22 victory.
 
The Scarlet Raiders finished the match hitting .281, and Juniata hit .302. The Eagles started the match strong, recording an attacking percentage of .609 in the first, and Newark ended the match strong, converting at a .600 clip in the fifth.
 
Rutgers-Newark had 77 points, 62 kills, six aces, nine blocks, 58 assists and 33 digs in their third five-set victory of the season and first since January 30. Four players had double-digit kills in the match.
 
McCandless dished out 55 assists and added four digs, and Chidsey picked up a team-high 15 kills (.542), two aces and three blocks. Kuti hit .545 and tallied 14 kills along with three blocks, and Fredricks had 11 kills, three blocks and four digs. Pieper finished with 12 kills, three aces and eight digs, with Mintzer getting nine kills and three digs. Senior libero Quocmy Nguyen notched a team-high 11 digs.
 
Fans can visit www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com for links to follow the Thiel match on Saturday. Opening serve is set for 2 p.m.