NEWARK, N.J. (October 17, 2017) – Tonight the Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team faced off against New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) foe William Paterson University in The Golden Dome. The Pioneers swept the home side by scores of 25-18, 25-20, and 25-21.

Rutgers-Newark falls to 8-13 (1-6 NJAC) while William Paterson improves to 13-8 (2-5 NJAC).

Senior Sue Riley had a fantastic contest, flying all over the court to rack up a match-high 32 digs. Junior Cassie Luken had 20 digs and six kills while senior Morgan Schweitzer contributed a team-best eight kills. Rookie Karly Gregoire orchestrated the offense with a match-high 28 assists. Luken and senior Rebecca Ford each recorded three blocks.

Both sides were even early in the opening set as the visitors held a slim 8-7 edge. Still, the Pioneers reeled off 13 of the next 15 points to claim a commanding 21-9 lead. The Scarlet Raiders would rally, taking six points out of seven including a trio of kills from Schweitzer and one each by sophomore Comfort Akinbo and freshman Samantha Kemmerer. William Paterson would recover and held on to take a 25-18 win.

The second set featured an incredible 11 ties and lead changes as neither side could pull away. The visitors turned a 10-10 deadlock into a 16-11 advantage but Rutgers-Newark rallied. Three kills from Ford and a pair of aces by Luken led the home team all the way back to an even 19-19 stanza. Unfortunately, the Pioneers would close out the set in a similar fashion to the first, winning six of the last seven points to earn a 25-20 win and 2-0 lead for the match.

The final game followed a familiar theme as the squads traded five lead changes and five ties. The Scarlet Raiders took a 10-6 lead thanks to a pair of kills by Ford and a spike from Akinbo. The Pioneers ripped off five consecutive points to claim a slim edge but blocks by Ford and Luken sandwiched around a kill by Luken saw the home team back in front. WPU responded to make it 15-13 but the stanza was tied one last time at 15-15. From there, the Pioneers pulled away and earned a 24-18 advantage. The Scarlet Raiders had one last rally as kills by Schweitzer and Luken had the home side within 24-21 before William Paterson closed out the set and the match with a 25-21 victory.

Rutgers-Newark is back in The Golden Dome on Thursday evening for a non-conference match with Farmingdale at 7 p.m.