NEWARK, N.J. (September 1, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team was edged by the United States Merchant Marine Academy in its season-opener Friday night in The Golden Dome as the Scarlet Raiders dropped a tough 3-2 battle.
 
The set scores were 25-22, 25-27, 24-26, 25-20 and 15-9.
 
Sophomore Comfort Akinbo led the Scarlet Raiders (0-1) with 14 kills, while Cassie Luken put down 10 winners and tallied seven aces. Senior libero Sue Riley was strong as well, lifting an excellent 49 digs, and freshman Karly Gregoire tallied a 32-assist, 14-dig double-double in her first collegiate match.
 
In the fifth and final set, Merchant Marine (1-0) scored 8-of-11 out of the gate to open an 8-3 lead at the switch, and after 3-of-4 for the Raiders trimmed the margin to three (9-6), the Mariners closed things out thanks in large part to a 3-0 run.
 
The Scarlet Raiders hit .043 overall, totaling 52 points, 37 kills, 11 aces, four blocks, 35 assists and 105 digs. Merchant Marine tallied 61 points on 51 kills, 10 aces and six blocks.
 
Senior Morgan Schweitzer had seven kills and 20 digs in a quality performance, while senior Rebecca Ford (three) and Akinbo (two) paced the Raider blocking unit.
 
In the first set, Rutgers-Newark raced out to a 12-7 lead, using a 5-0 run to create the cushion. USMMA stormed back to take a 15-13 margin, scoring five of the final seven points in the set to earn the 25-22 win.
 
A 5-0 spurt early in the second helped Rutgers-Newark take back the momentum, but a see-saw match continued as the guests came back to open a 15-10 lead after 25 tallies. The Scarlet Raiders did not back down, fighting back with seven-straight tallies to open an 18-17 advantage, and after Merchant Marine went back on top, Newark buckled down and got late kills from Ford and Luken to tie the match at one.
 
In the third, the teams continued to tussle. A Luken winner tied the set at 23 and after a service error brought on set point for Merchant Marine, three-straight Mariner errors allowed the Scarlet Raiders to take a 2-1 lead.
 
The hosts ripped off 6-of-9 to start the fourth and then opened a 12-7 margin on the back of a Riley ace. The lead swelled to six (17-11) moments later, but USMMA went on a big 14-3 run to force a fifth set.
 
Sophomore setter Kyleigh Kappas double-doubled with 42 assists and 15 digs to lead Merchant Marine. Senior Dominique Pope doubled-doubled with 13 kills and 14 digs, while junior Kate Lefler did the same with 14 kills and 15 digs.
 
Luken added seven digs to her 10 kills and seven aces,  Riley added three assists to her 49 digs and Akinbo tallied a team-high .250 hitting percentage for the Scarlet Raiders.
 
Rutgers-Newark will return to action at Pratt Thursday, September 7 at 7:30 p.m. The Raiders return to The Golden Dome for a tri-match Saturday, September 9.