Alvernia Highlights | Stevenson Highlights

NEWARK, N.J. (March 25, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team split a pair of Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) matches Saturday afternoon in The Golden Dome.
 
The Scarlet Raiders opened the day with a 3-0 sweep of Alvernia, but R-N was topped by Stevenson University in the nightcap by the same score.
 
Down its top offensive threat in junior Corey Pieper, Rutgers-Newark played solid volleyball all day, earning a key win over Alvernia University behind junior Ricky Crumlish and freshman Malik Patel, and pushing a strong Stevenson squad throughout.
 
Rutgers-Newark moves to 10-14 overall and 4-5 in the league, and the Scarlet Raiders return to action with a conference match at Cairn University Tuesday night.
 
Rutgers-Newark 3, Alvernia 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-18)
The host Scarlet Raiders started the day strong, getting career performances from Crumlish and Patel who each tallied double-digit kills. Crumlish put down a career-best 17 winners and Patel had 11 as Rutgers-Newark picked up its 10th win of the season.
 
Newark converted at a very efficient .340 mark in the match, compiling a .412 hitting percentage in the first set and a .323 mark in the second. R-N finished the match with 55 points, 45 kills, five aces, five blocks, 43 assists and 39 digs. The defense held Alvernia to a hitting percentage of .170 as the Crusaders pocketed 41 points on 35 kills, three aces and three blocks.
 
Kills from junior Justin Sandy, junior Jalen Sorrell, Patel and sophomore Brendon Frank gave Rutgers-Newark an early 4-0 lead, and moments later an ace from Crumlish made the score 6-0 and forced a Crusader timeout.
 
Rutgers-Newark would end up scoring the first eight points of the match, and a solo block from junior Dom Gutowski staked Rutgers to a 13-3 edge. Alvernia made it a set, getting within four (19-15), but a Patel winner slowed the Crusader momentum and Rutgers-Newark closed out the set for a 1-0 lead.
 
The two teams went back-and-forth early in the second, and Rutgers-Newark was able to open a slim 11-9 advantage after 20 points. Leading 13-12, the Scarlet Raiders surged in front with 6-of-7 to open a 19-13 lead. Sorrell and Crumlish (two) notched kills in the rally as the Scarlet Raiders were able to close out the 2-0 lead on a Crumlish winner.
 
In the third, Alvernia doubled up Rutgers-Newark early, but a 3-0 rally knotted things at 12 following a hammer from Crumlish. Moments later, the Scarlet Raiders ripped off 10 of the next 13 to open a 22-15 margin and all but lock up the win. Sandy, Crumlish and Sorrell all delivered multiple scores in the match-clinching-run.
 
Crumlish's kills came with a lofty .444 hitting percentage and he added four digs, while Patel hit a sterling .526 with eight digs. Sandy had eight kills, seven digs and two aces, while Sorrell had seven kills (.526). Freshman Jake Connors totaled 14 digs in the match along with three assists, Frank picked up 39 assists (13.33/set) and lifted six digs and Gutowski racked up a team-high four blocks.
 
Stevenson 3, Rutgers-Newark 0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-21)
Defending conference champ and rival Stevenson bested the Scarlet Raiders in the nightcap, but Rutgers-Newark pushed the Mustangs in each and every set.
 
The Scarlet Raiders came out firing, scoring 7-of-10 to start the match, but the Mustangs rallied with 5-of-6 to tie things, 8-8. Stevenson continued to play well, opening a 15-11 lead and forcing a Rutgers-Newark timeout. Frank and Gutowski combined on a block out of the timeout to get R-N back within three, but that is as close as Rutgers-Newark would get down the stretch, falling 25-20.
 
The two sides split the first 20 points of the second set, but Rutgers-Newark gained a three-point lead via a 5-2 surge behind blocks from Sorrell and Sandy and a kill from Patel.
 
Stevenson rallied, tying things at 19 after an ace from sophomore Landon Shorts. A kill for junior Alex Klunk gave the Mustangs set point at 24-23 and an attacking error sealed a 2-0 lead for the guests.
 
Stevenson was able to take an 8-4 edge in the third, but Rutgers-Newark stormed back to get within one marker at 9-8.  The Mustangs regrouped and answered, pushing their lead to six at 17-11 and forcing an R-N timeout.
 
Despite the hole, Rutgers-Newark battled, clawing within three points behind the serve of Gutowski (18-15). The Scarlet Raiders then tied the set at 20-all, forcing a guest timeout, but Stevenson scored three-straight out of the break to take a 23-20 lead, and eventually closed it out, 25-21.
 
Stevenson hit .216 in the match, while the Scarlet Raiders hit .112. The Mustangs finished with 55 points on 46 kills, four aces and five blocks, and Rutgers-Newark had 31 points on 25 kills, five blocks and one ace. R-N totaled 26 digs and 21 assists as a team.
 
Crumlish (eight) and Sorrell (seven) paced Rutgers-Newark in kills, while Sorrell picked up the Scarlet Raider ace. Gutowski (four), Frank (two) and Sandy (two) all had multiple blocks, Frank dished out 19 assists and he also led the team with eight digs. Patel had six digs and Connors had five in the nightcap.