NEWARK, N.J. (September 29, 2016) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team won on its home floor for the fourth time in five matches this season, rolling to a 3-0 sweep over the College of Staten Island.
 
With the win, the Scarlet Raiders improve to 7-7 on the year, while the Dolphins drop to 3-7. The Scarlet Raiders will return to action Saturday with a pair of matches, hosting Baruch College and SUNY Martime for a tri-match starting at 11 a.m.
 
The set scores were 25-14, 25-9 and 25-15, and after hitting .088 in the first set, Rutgers-Newark hit .241 in the second and a strong .310 in the third to finish the match at .207.
 
Rutgers-Newark 25, CSI 15
On the serve of senior Kathy Hormaza, the Scarlet Raiders were able to turn a 7-6 lead into a 12-6 margin, using a pair of aces and a kill from junior Karolina Kopacz.
 
Kopacz served the Raiders to an 18-11 lead, with the Raiders closing out the set on the solid service game of freshman Brione Lockett and kills from sophomore Cassie Luken and senior Tabitha Davis.
 
Davis led the Rutgers-Newark offense, tallying five kills and a .556 hitting percentage in the first.
 
Rutgers-Newark 25, CSI 9
The hosts ran off 9-of-10 to start the second, again getting strong serving from Lockett, and forcing a timeout from the Dolphins. The run continued after the break with Lockett notching two more aces, before CSI picked up its second point.
 
An ace from Hormaza helped Newark to a 17-3 edge after 20 points, and the Scarlet Raiders closed it out on a kill from Luken. Rutgers hit .241 in the second set, getting two kills from sophomore Jess Moy, Luken, Davis, Kopacz and sophomore Nicole Polak.
 
Rutgers-Newark 25, CSI 15
CSI raced out to a 4-0 lead in the third, but R-N quickly rebounded, tying the score at five-all following another Davis winner. Two aces in a 4-0 run for junior Vanessa Reyes helped CSI to get the lead back, but a Kopacz kill in a rally for the Scarlet Raiders tied things at 12.
 
A Kopacz hammer and Sue Riley ace resulted in a 15-12 Rutgers-Newark lead, and a Davis kill gave the hosts a five-point edge (20-15). R-N would cruise from there, winning the set on back-to-back aces from Moy and a CSI error.
 
Rutgers-Newark finished the match with 50 points, 34 kills, 14 aces, two blocks, 33 helpers and 40 digs. CSI tallied 42 digs, 18 points and 11 kills.
 
Davis led the offense with 11 kills and a hitting percentage of .280, with Kopacz notching eight kills and Luken tallying six. Lockett was excellent on the serve, recording a team-high five aces, and Kopacz and Hormaza each picked up three. Riley had 12 digs and Luken had 10 as Kopacz (18) and Hormaza (eight) combined for 26 assists.