NEWARK, N.J. (October 13, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 non-conference match to the College of Mount Saint Vincent Friday night in The Golden Dome.
 
The sets and set scores were tight throughout the action but things went in favor of the Dolphins; 25-22, 25-22 and 25-23.
 
The Scarlet Raiders fall to 6-12 overall and will look to get back in the win column Saturday in a tri-match at Baruch College. R-N will square off with Maritime College (1 p.m.) and host Baruch (3 p.m.). Mount Saint Vincent improves to 14-7 on the season.
 
CMSV 25, R-N 22
The Dolphins scored 6-of-8 to start the match, but 4-of-6 for the Scarlet Raiders trimmed the lead to two (8-6) following a winner from junior Cassie Luken. A pair of aces from sophomore Karly Gregoire staked Rutgers to an 11-9 advantage, with five of the next six for Mount Saint Vincent helping the guests to a two-point lead at 14-12. The lead swelled to four (18-14), forcing a Rutgers-Newark timeout, but out of the break an incredible four-block stretch for senior Rebecca Ford had the Raiders within striking distance at 22-21.
 
Unfortunately, Newark could not get over the hump, and the Dolphins held on for the 1-0 lead in the match.
 
CMSV 25, R-N 22
Rutgers-Newark came out of the gate strong in the second, taking a 5-2 lead behind winners from senior Morgan Schweitzer, freshman Samantha Kemmerer and Luken. CMSV came back to tie things at nine, taking an 11-9 margin behind the serve of senior Nicole Henderson.
 
A see-saw set continued, with R-N taking a 14-13 edge and the Dolphins coming back to take the upper hand at 19-18. Rutgers would tie at 19 and 20, but an error and block for Mount Saint Vincent put the guests on top by two, eventually taking the 25-22 win.
 
CMSV 25, R-N 23
The Scarlet Raiders took an early 5-2 lead featuring a block and a kill from Schweitzer and an ace from Gregoire, Mount Saint Vincent then rallied, tying the set at eight behind sophomore Dez Brown.
 
Kills from Kemmerer and sophomore Comfort Akinbo pushed Newark back in front (14-12), and after the Dolphins came back, big winners from Schweitzer, Ford and Gregoire gave the Raiders a 20-17 lead.
 
CMSV responded with a 6-1 rally to take a 23-21 lead, and despite getting within one twice (23-22, 24-23), Rutgers-Newark was unable to get over the hump.
 
R-N out-hit the Dolphins in the match .188 to .170, converting at clips of .294 and .225 in the second and third sets, respectively. The Scarlet Raiders finished with 43 points on 31 kills, nine blocks and three aces, while CMSV racked up 54 points on 44 winners, six aces and four denials.
 
Schweitzer (11) and Luken (nine; .333) combined for 20 kills to lead the offense, while Gregoire tallied all three Rutgers-Newark aces, dished out a team-high 27 assists, lifted eight digs and recorded three block assists. Ford had five kills and five blocks in a strong performance, while senior Sue Riley lifted a match-best 20 digs. Luken added 12 digs to her line for good measure.
 
Sophomore Tara Maloney and Brown combined for 28 kills, while Henderson dished out a match-high 34 assists.