Day 1 Recap | Tournament Program
NEWARK, N.J. (January 21, 2017) – The 11th-ranked Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team was defeated by nationally-ranked No. 3 Stevens Institute of Technology and Lasell College Saturday in the final day of the 2017 Golden Dome Invitational.
Rutgers-Newark falls to 0-4 on the young season, while Stevens moves to 3-0 and Lasell jumps to 2-0.
The tournament featured some of the best teams in the nation in No. 3 Stevens, No. 6 UC Santa Cruz, No. 11 Rutgers-Newark, No. 15 Juniata College and both Lasell and Elmira College. Four of the top-15 teams in the nation competed in the two-day tournament.
Rutgers-Newark returns to the court Friday with two matches in the Bronx against Southern Virginia University and Lehman College.
Stevens 3, Rutgers-Newark 0
Stevens 25, Rutgers-Newark 19
The opening moments of the first set saw each team make mini-runs, ultimately trading points before a 4-1 run for the Ducks gave the guests a 10-7 lead.
A solo-stuff for junior outside
Corey Pieper brought the Raiders back within one, and the two teams went point-for-point until Stevens ran off three in a row to take a 16-12 lead. Despite the best efforts from Pieper and solid play all-around, Newark was unable to get over the hump and fell by the 25-19 score in the set. Pieper had a sparkling seven winners and a .545 hitting percentage in the first set.
Stevens 25, Rutgers-Newark 20
The start to the second set mirrored the first as the two teams seemed to trade tallies, but a 4-0 run for the guests made the score 15-11 in their favor and forced a Rutgers-Newark timeout.
A Pieper hammer and solo-block for junior
Dom Gutowski gave the Scarlet Raiders some momentum and cut the Stevens lead to two (16-14), but behind senior Gabe Shankweiler, SIT was able to close the set to take a 2-0 lead.
Stevens 25, Rutgers-Newark 17
Stevens came out strong in the third, opening an early 8-4 lead before sophomore opposite
Brendon Frank delivered on a kill to slow the momentum.
The Ducks kept a solid working advantage throughout most of the set, but Rutgers-Newark continued to battle, using a solid run to cut into a big Stevens lead before ultimately falling, 25-17.
Despite the loss, Pieper was a monster for the Scarlet Raiders, delivering 19 kills, a .567 hitting percentage and four rejections. Gutowski added three blocks, sophomore
Brendon Frank tallied 15 assists, and freshman
Jake Connors paced the team with seven digs.
R-N finished with 40 points, 32 kills, two aces, six blocks, 29 assists and 20 digs, hitting .188 in the match. Stevens totaled 58 points, 46 winners, five aces, seven blocks, 45 helpers and 29 digs, and the Ducks were paced by Shankweiler and freshman David Lehman who combined for 27 kills.
Lasell 3, Rutgers-Newark 0
Lasell 25, Rutgers-Newark 21
Neither team was able to gain the upper-hand early, and save for '5', the score was tied at every number up to 15. Lasell then tallied four-straight points to take the first three-point margin of the match (18-15), and a Newark error forced the Raiders to call timeout trailing 19-15.
After the TO, Rutgers-Newark trimmed the lead to two (23-21) following a big kill from Pieper, but the Lasers did enough to close it out for the 1-0 lead in them match.
Lasell 25, Rutgers-Newark 20
The Lasers jumped out in front 8-2 after 10 markers, but Newark rallied back with 4-of-5 to make it a 9-6 set, and a kill from junior
Justin Sandy brought the hosts within two (15-13). Lasell ran off three in a row to push the lead back to five, and clinched the 2-0 match lead on a kill from freshman Scott Sterenberg.
Lasell 25, Rutgers-Newark 22
The action at the start of the third, mirrored the start of the first and the two teams were tied at 11 following the first career kill for freshman
Malik Patel of R-N.
A 3-0 rally for Lasell broke a 15-15 stalemate and forced a Raider timeout, and Lasell extended to a 21-16 margin moments later.
A Sandy kill cut a six-point deficit to three at 21-18, and Pieper dropped a monster hammer to bring Newark within two (22-20). However, R-N did not have enough to get over the hump, eventually falling in three.
Pieper finished the nightcap with a 10-kill, 10-dig double-double, while Sandy had five kills and 10 digs. Frank tallied four winners, 12 assists and five digs. Gutowski registered three blocks and three kills as the Scarlet Raiders ended the match with 35 points, 30 kills, a .226 hitting percentage, 27 assists and 35 digs. Lasell picked up 48 points, 41 kills, a .292 hitting percentage, 38 assists and 37 digs.
