BROOKLYN, N.Y. (March 4, 2017) –The Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team rolled to a pair of 3-0 sweeps Saturday in Brooklyn, topping the College of Staten Island and St. Joe's – Brooklyn by identical 3-0 margins.
 
Rutgers-Newark has now won 5-of-6 to improve to 8-12 on the season. The Raiders will return to action with a non-conference match at Ramapo College Tuesday night.
 
Rutgers-Newark 3, CSI 0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-11)
After a tough loss to end Friday night's tri-match, Rutgers-Newark bounced back quickly, rolling to a sweep of CSI (4-7). Rutgers-Newark put down 49 kills in just three sets, totaling 58 points, five aces, 44 assists and 29 digs. The Scarlet Raiders held CSI to a .046 hitting percentage, while converting at a .506 clip themselves.
 
Newark rolled to a 25-15 win in the first, took control early in the second and never looked back. A kill from junior Justin Sandy made it 7-of-10 points for the Scarlet Raiders to begin the match, and after CSI made it 11-8, four in a row from R-N made it 15-8 moments later. Later in the set, kills from juniors Jalen Sorrell and Ricky Crumlish sealed the 1-0 lead, and behind the service game of freshman Warren Hilliard, Rutgers surged in front 10-3 in the second. Back-to-back hammers from junior Corey Pieper upped the margin to nine (16-7), and winners from Crumlish and Sandy locked up a 2-0 margin.
 
Rutgers-Newark ripped off 9-of-10 to begin the third behind three kills from freshman Malik Patel, and a pair of winners from rookie Max Winstanley made the score 18-8 later in the frame. Newark closed it out as Crumlish and freshman Martin Chuku Jr. recorded the final two Scarlet Raider points in the win.
 
Crumlish led the hitters with 13 kills, Pieper had 12 and Sandy had 10, with Crumlish delivering a team-high two aces. Junior Dom Gutowski turned in a team-high three blocks, while sophomore Brendon Frank (28) and sophomore Arnan Romua (15) led the passers. Freshman libero Jake Connors had seven digs, with Crumlish and Pieper combining to lift 11. Sorrell and Patel combined for 10 kills in the match.
 
Rutgers-Newark 3, St. Joe's 0 (25-12, 25-8, 25-7)
A Sandy winner gave Rutgers-Newark a 6-1 lead in the first, and again the Scarlet Raiders were off. A Romua ace and error handed Rutgers-Newark a 20-10 margin, with a Connors kill locking down a 1-0 lead.
 
Sandy and Winstanley combined on a block to give Rutgers-Newark a 14-6 advantage after 20 markers in the second, and two Connors' aces and two Patel kings put Newark up 2-0.
 
The service game of Hilliard propelled Rutgers-Newark to an 8-0 opening to the third, and the Bears (1-15) struggled overall as the Raiders cruised 25-7.
 
Rutgers-Newark hit .456 in the match, holding the Bears to -.250. R-N totaled 37 kills, 32 assists, 57 points, 24 digs and 17 aces, while St. Joe's notched five kills and four assists.
 
Patel led the Scarlet Raiders with 13 kills (.588) and five digs, with Connors totaling 12 kills and five aces. Winstanley had five kills and two blocks, Sorrell finished with four kills, and Romua had 18 assists, five digs and three aces. Hilliard notched three aces in the victory.

Stay hot! Rutgers-Newark has won 5-of-6 to improve to 8-12 after starting the season 3-11.

Stay hotter! Rutgers-Newark hit .506 in the first match and .456 in the second match. Both marks beat the previous season-best hitting percentage of .319 vs Bard.