Tournament Program

NEWARK, N.J. (January 20, 2017) – The 11th-ranked Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team suffered a pair of tough losses Friday night in The Golden Dome Invitational, falling 3-1 to No. 6 UC-Santa Cruz in the opener, and dropping a five-set marathon to Elmira College in the nightcap.
 
The Scarlet Raiders will get a chance to bounce back Saturday with matches against No. 3 Stevens Institute of Technology (11 a.m.) and Lasell College (3 p.m.) in The Golden Dome.
 
UC Santa Cruz 3, Rutgers-Newark 1
Rutgers-Newark 25, UCSC 17
A block from junior outside Corey Pieper got the Raiders started the right way in 2017, and back-to-back winners from sophomore opposite Brendon Frank made the score 5-3 Newark after eight tallies.
 
Back-to-back hammers from Frank and Pieper made it a 10-4 set and forced a Santa Cruz timeout, and after 25 points, the Scarlet Raiders held a 15-10 advantage.
 
The two sides went back-and-forth over the next few markers, before Rutgers-Newark closed the set with a nice run to take a 1-0 lead, getting kills from junior middle Jalen Sorrell and Pieper and a nice combo-block from Sorrell and Frank.
 
UCSC 25, Rutgers-Newark 22
Santa Cruz came out strong early with 7-of-10, and doubled up the hosts 15 points in, 10-5. Kills from junior outside Justin Sandy and Frank as part of a 3-0 run pulled Rutgers-Newark within three (11-8), and a Pieper hammer tied things at 13-all after a Frank ace got the Scarlet Raiders within one.
 
Back-and-forth the teams would go, but a 4-0 run for Santa Cruz helped the Slugs to a 23-19 edge and the they eventually closed it out to tie the match.
 
UCSC 25, Rutgers-Newark 22
In the third, Santa Cruz scored 5-of-6 to start, but the Raiders rallied quickly to get within one at 7-6 following a combo block from sophomore setter Arnan Romua and junior middle Dom Gutowski.
 
Santa Cruz responded, forcing a Scarlet Raider timeout leading 13-8, and after Rutgers-Newark trimmed the lead to three, 3-of-4 for the guests put the lead back to five (18-13).
 
The Scarlet Raiders again battled back, fighting within one point, but the hosts did not have enough down the stretch, eventually falling, 25-22.
 
UCSC 25, Rutgers-Newark 18
After trading early points, a 3-0 run for Santa Cruz allowed the Slugs to open a 9-6 advantage, and they eventually extended to six (16-10) keyed by a block from junior Ryan McLaughlin. From that point, Santa Cruz was able to keep a solid working margin and clinched the match after a Scarlet Raider attacking error.
 
The Scarlet Raiders hit .355 in the first set and a solid .278 overall for the match, with the Banana Slugs converting at a .312 clip, including a .609 mark in the fourth. Rutgers-Newark totaled 60 points, 51 kills, three aces, six blocks, 49 assists and 39 digs, while the guests had 65 points, 58 kills, two aces, five blocks, 53 helpers and 50 digs.
 
Pieper had a splendid 19 kills, with Sandy putting down 12 and Frank hammering home eight. Gutowski (three), Romua (two) and Frank (two) led the blocking unit, with Romua dishing out 45 assists. Freshman libero Jake Connors (11), Sandy (10) and Pieper combined for 29 digs and Pieper's sparkling .425 attacking percentage paced the team.
 
Elmira 3, Rutgers-Newark 2
FIFTH SET: Elmira 15, Rutgers-Newark 8
Elmira took the upper hand early in the final set, opening a 3-0 margin and led 6-3 after nine markers. Rutgers-Newark would battle back behind Sandy who delivered two-straight winners to pull his team within one point at 6-5, but Elmira pushed the lead back to three at the switch (8-5).
 
The Scarlet Raiders were able to get within two points on several occasions late, but they could not get the tallies needed to complete the comeback from 2-1 down.
 
Rutgers-Newark 25, Elmira 22
Despite an up-and-down start, Rutgers-Newark was able to take a 10-6 lead after a well-struck kill from Sandy, and a big-time winner from Frank pushed the lead to five (15-10), forcing an Elmira timeout. A Frank ace upped the lead to 18-11, but the Soaring Eagles battled back within two, forcing Scarlet Raider Head Coach Pedro Trevino to use one of his timeouts.
 
Down the stretch, a kill from Pieper gave Newark set point (24-21) before a Sandy kill sealed the 1-0 lead for the hosts.
 
Elmira 25, Rutgers-Newark 20
Elmira came out hot in the second, jumping out to a 7-3 edge, but back-to-back blocks and an Elmira attacking error allowed Newark to tie things at nine. The pendulum swung back in favor of the guests as several fortunate bounces aided an 8-3 run that led to a 17-12 lead and a Rutgers-Newark timeout.
 
The lead swelled to seven (20-13) for Elmira, and the guests eventually closed out the set with a winner from junior Ryan McDonough.
 
Elmira 25, Rutgers-Newark 21
Neither squad was able to create separation in the early parts of the third set, but kills from Sorrell and Frank helped the Scarlet Raiders to an 11-8 margin. The see-saw action would continue as EC came back to knot things up at 12-all.
 
Elmira continued to play solidly, opening a 16-14 margin following a McDonough winner, and pushing the lead to four (19-15) moments later.
 
Three kills and a solo-block for Sorrell pulled Rutgers-Newark within one (22-21), but the Soaring Eagles closed the set on a 3-0 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Rutgers-Newark 25, Elmira 11
The Scarlet Raiders doubled up the guests early in the fourth (6-3), and back-to-back markers from Sorrell and Pieper pushed the Newark margin to five (8-3). Three-straight aces from Frank gave Rutgers-Newark to a 16-7 lead, and the Scarlet Raiders continued to roll, cruising to a convincing victory to force the fifth and final set.
 
Sandy (11, .346), Peiper (10) and Sorrell (10, .500) led the Rutgers-Newark hitters, with Frank recording an excellent five service aces. Sorrell paced the R-N blockers with four as Gutowski and Romua each were credited with three, and Romua dished out 39 assists. Freshman Jake Connors picked up 17 digs in a solid performance as the Scarlet Raiders totaled 62 points, 47 kills, six aces, nine blocks, 45 assists and 41 digs.
 
Elmira racked up 68.5 points, 54 winners, seven aces, seven blocks, 47 helpers and 39 digs, hitting .258 in the match. Newark hit .187, notching a very nice .471 in the fourth.