HUNTINGDON, Pa. (April 7, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team was defeated by Juniata College Friday night, falling by a 3-0 final in a Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) match in Memorial Gym.

The set scores were 25-18, 25-11 and 25-21. The Scarlet Raiders fall to 12-17 overall and 6-7 in the conference, while Juniata moves to 18-10 overall and 10-3 in the CVC.
 
Rutgers-Newark will return to the court Saturday at 11 a.m., taking on conference rival Thiel College in the team's regular-season finale.
 
Junior Justin Sandy led Rutgers-Newark with 10 kills and a .389 hitting percentage, and sophomore Brendon Frank had nine kills and a .500 hitting percentage.
 
The Eagles raced out in front early in the first set, scoring 12 of the first 16 points for a 12-4 lead, but the Scarlet Raiders chipped away, using two Frank kills in a 3-0 run to get within six at 22-16. Six would be as close as Newark would get, falling 25-18.
 
Juniata took control early in the second and never let go, going in front 13-5 to start and extending late with a 6-0 lead to open a 2-0 margin the match.
 
Rutgers-Newark could have easily folded in the third when Juniata took a 15-7 lead after a 5-0 rally midway through the set. However, kills from Frank and Sandy as part of a 4-1 surge trimmed the lead to five (20-15), and a service ace from sophomore Arnan Romua made it a four-point set at 22-18. A winner from junior Corey Pieper and an Eagle error made the score 24-21, but three was as close as Rutgers-Newark could get in falling 25-21 in the third.
 
Romua had 28 assists, four digs and two aces, while Frank added three digs to his nine winners. Junior Ricky Crumlish had six kills, and freshman Jake Connors lifted a team-high six digs.
 
Rutgers-Newark had 34 points, 32 kills, two aces, 32 assists and 18 digs, while Juniata finished with 47 tallies, 33 kills, six aces, eight blocks, 30 assists and 21 digs. The Eagles hit .450 overall, and Rutgers-Newark carded a .160 hitting percentage.