STEVENSON, Md. (February 18, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Stevenson University Saturday afternoon.
 
The Scarlet Raiders drop to 2-2 in the Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) and 3-8 overall, while the Mustangs move to 11-6 overall and 2-1 in the league. Rutgers-Newark returns to action Wednesday night at Stevens Institute of Technology in a non-conference road match.
 
Junior Corey Pieper led the Scarlet Raiders with 14 kills and a .308 hitting percentage and the set scores were 25-18, 25-23 and 25-9.
 
Stevenson 25, Rutgers-Newark 18
It was the Scarlet Raiders taking an early lead in this one behind two kills apiece from Pieper and Dom Gutowski, but the Mustangs reeled off 8-of-10 points to take a 15-9 margin in the set.
 
Back-to-back Stevenson errors allowed Rutgers-Newark to get within four late (21-17), but the Mustangs scored four of the next five to take a 1-0 lead.
 
Stevenson 25, Rutgers-Newark 23
Pieper, junior Justin Sandy and junior Jalen Sorrell all had early kills in the second for the Raiders, but Stevenson was able to take an early 10-4 lead. The lead moved to eight (18-10), but 6-0 run on the serve of Sorrell pulled Newark within two (18-16).
 
Moments later, Rutgers-Newark tied the set at 21 with three-straight points featuring a Pieper winner, but Stevenson was able to edge out the Raiders to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Stevenson 25, Rutgers-Newark 9
The Mustangs took control of the set with six of the first seven points, and after the Scarlet Raiders fought within four (11-7), the hosts closed the match with a 14-2 rally.
 
Sorrell and Sandy had five and four kills, respectively, for the Raiders, while Gutowski had three blocks. Sandy (six), sophomore Brendon Frank (four) and freshman Jake Connors (four) led the Raider digging unit, and Rutgers-Newark finished the match with a .160 hitting percentage, 35 points, 30 kills, five blocks, 28 assists and 21 digs.
 
Stevenson hit .390 overall, totaling 50 points, 42 kills, three aces, five blocks, 37 helpers and 24 digs. Shorts paced the Mustangs with 16 kills, two aces and six digs.