NEW YORK, N.Y. (October 5, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team suffered a non-conference loss at the hands of host John Jay College tonight, 3-1 (25-19, 17-25, 25-23, 25-17). The Scarlet Raiders move to 6-7 on the season while the Bloodhounds improve to 7-6.

Rutgers-Newark was led by junior Cassie Luken who racked up 16 kills and an ace while senior Morgan Schweitzer added nine kills, 10 digs, and an ace. Senior Sue Riley had a match-best 27 digs. Rookie Karly Gregoire compiled a team-best 31 assists.

R-N hung around in the first set and rebounded from an early 12-9 deficit. Reeling off five consecutive points, featuring an ace by Schweitzer, the visitors claimed a 14-12 edge. Still, John Jay kept it close and eventually pulled away, winning six of the final seven points of the set to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

The Scarlet Raiders rallied quickly, claiming five of the first six points in the second stanza including a pair of kills from Luken. The Bloodhounds did not go away and were able to cut their deficit down to just 17-16. However, the visitors would not be denied, closing out the set by winning eight of the final nine points and featuring two spikes each by Luken and senior Rebecca Ford. That 25-17 victory evened the match at 1-1.

In a pivotal third set that including six ties and six lead changes, John Jay was able to reclaim the momentum. While Rutgers-Newark knotted the period at 19-19 and rallied to close a late deficit to 24-23, the home team eked out a 25-23 win and a 2-1 advantage.

In the final stanza, the two sides continued to battle back-and-forth, this time to the tune of seven ties and seven lead changes. Still, the Bloodhounds would slowly pull away and late in the set the closest the Scarlet Raiders would get is 17-15. The hosts eventually closed out the set and match with a 25-17 win.

Rutgers-Newark returns to action on Saturday when they head to Wilkes University for a tri-match with the hosts and Lebanon Valley College beginning at 12 p.m.