Live Stats I Video I ECAC Bracket I ECAC Release

R-N Schedule I LVC Schedule

R-N Stats I LVC Stats

NEWARK, N.J. (November 6, 2018) – Tomorrow night, the third-seeded Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team will travel to second-seeded Lebanon Valley College for its first round Pod 2 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Championships matchup at 7:30 p.m.

This is R-N's fourth ECAC appearance since 2012 as the program seeks its first postseason victory since 2014 when the squad swept the College of New Rochelle in The Golden Dome before falling to New Jersey Athletic Conference rival Ramapo College in the second round at a neutral location. In 2016, the Raiders lost to eventual champion Swarthmore College in the opening round.

The ECAC changed up its format in 2016, moving from smaller regional tournaments to a larger national event. This year, there are 13 teams that were selected for the competition with three top seeds earning a bye into the second round. There will be five first round matchups all hosted by the higher seed tomorrow night before the quarterfinals head to top overall seed Cabrini University beginning on Saturday.

The two sides had a pair of common opponents this fall. Rutgers-Newark was edged by Albright College 3-2 at the King's College tri-match on October 6 while LVC defeated Albright in conference action at home on October 3. Similarly, R-N fell to Rowan in league play at home on October 23 and Lebanon Valley won 3-1 on September 22 against the Profs at the Rowan tri-match.

The Scarlet Raiders had one of their best seasons in recent memory, led by Head Coach Megan Knott in her third year, completing the regular season with a 16-10 overall mark and a 4-4 record in league play before falling in the first round of the NJAC Championship Tournament at Montclair State University last Tuesday evening.

The 16 wins are the most in a campaign since 2014 while the four NJAC victories are the most since R-N  went 6-2 in conference play in 2006. The squad's .615 winning percentage is also the highest since that 2006 team.

At one point this fall, the Raiders won eight consecutive matches as they had a fantastic 10-2 start to their season.

On the offensive end, Rutgers-Newark is led by senior Cassie Luken with 286 kills (3.58 per set), junior Comfort Akinbo with 226 winners (3.48 per set), and freshman Sharon Starling rounding out the group with 186 kills (2.33 per set). Starling also racked up a team-best 64 aces (0.80 per set). Sophomore Karly Gregoire orchestrated that potent attack with 742 assists (7.98 per set).

Defensively, junior Brione Lockett leads the way with 489 digs (5.26 per set) and classmate Epiphani Woodard added 41 blocks (0.63 per set).

The Dutchmen (17-12 overall, 6-2 MAC) hail from the Mid Atlantic Conference Commonwealth division and come into this match having also been knocked out in their first league tournament contest. Still, LVC had a strong campaign and have a 5-2 mark on home turf.

Lebanon Valley is led offensively by Jess Attieh with 377 kills (4.05 per set) and Reily Shelly with 180 winners (1.88 per set) while Jensen Burnheimer has guided the attack with 683 assists (8.23 per set).

Emily Smeltz and Shelly are the top defensive players on the squad with 320 (3.60 per set) and 240 (2.50 per set) digs, respectively. Attieh is first on the team with 71 blocks (0.76 per set).