NEWARK, N.J. (October 2, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) rival Stockton University Tuesday night in The Golden Dome.
 
The loss is the first at home for Rutgers-Newark this season as the Scarlet Raiders drop to 2-2 in league play and 12-5 overall. Stockton runs its winning streak to 10 matches, improving to 17-4 overall and 4-0 in the NJAC.
 
Tuesday night's set scores were 25-14, 25-18 and 25-21.
 
The guests took an early 11-4 advantage in the first, but 3-of-4 for the Scarlet Raiders made it a five-point set (12-7) moments later. Stockton forced a Newark timeout at 14-7, and the guests were able to continue extending, opening a 12-point lead at 20-8. The Scarlet Raiders battled, but it was not enough as Stockton was able to take the 1-0 lead.
 
The two sides went point-for-point to open the third set and were tied after 10 scores (5-5), but Stockton scored six of the next seven to take an 11-6 lead and force at Rutgers-Newark timeout. The Scarlet Raiders got right back into it as back-to-back spikes from freshman Meredith Moore and senior Cassie Luken made the score 12-10. Senior Allie Desmond helped the guests regain a six-point edge (17-11) with a trio of kills later in the action, and despite a kill and an ace from freshman Sharon Starling and a trio of spikes from Luken, Stockton was able to close it out for a 2-0 lead.
 
A Luken win and Moore-Dahlia Shoukry block had Rutgers-Newark and Stockton tight early in the third, and a sneaky winner from sophomore Karly Gregoire put an end to an Osprey run and pulled the Scarlet Raiders back within three. A Woodard-Moore denial and Woodard winner made it a one-point set (9-8), with a Starling-Shoukry rejection tying the things at 13.
 
A back-and-forth frame continued as Stockton quickly went back up three, and Rutgers-Newark quickly fought back to tie things at 18 after a Luken winner and handling error on the Ospreys. Unfortunately for the hosts, Stockton was able to score 6-of-8 to bring up match point, and the Ospreys closed things out with a kill from middle Franceska Gutstave.
 
Rutgers-Newark was led by Luken who had 11 kills and three digs and Starling who put down nine wiinners, lifted 11 digs and tallied a pair of blocks. Junior Brione Lockett pocketed 10 digs, and Gregoire tallied 21 assists and five digs. Woodard led Rutgers-Newark with four total blocks, with Moore and Shoukry posting two, and junior Analis Capobianco registered eight digs.
 
Veteran Allie Desmond led Stockton with 16 kills as the Ospreys totaled 49 points on 42 kills, five aces and two blocks. Rutgers-Newark notched 33 points on 26 kills, one ace and six blocks, adding 25 assists and 39 digs as a team.
 
R-N will head to Wilkes-Barre, Pa. for a tri-match at King's College Saturday and returns to conference play at William Paterson Tuesday.
 
Fans should follow @ScarletRaiders on twitter and Instagram all season long for the latest on Scarlet Raider women's volleyball. Fans can also follow @RUNWVB on Instagram for an inside look at the squad.