Highlights

NEWARK, N.J. (February 27, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team improved to 13-1 overall and 5-0 in the Continental Volleyball Conference with a 3-0 sweep of league rival Ramapo College (4-10, 2-4 CVC) Tuesday night in The Golden Dome. The victory is the 12th-straight for the Scarlet Raiders.
 
Tuesday night's set scores were 25-20, 25-10 and 25-22.
 
Rutgers-Newark had four players with multiple blocks, including a match-high five from senior Jalen Sorrell, and five players had four kills or more, led by the 11 from senior Corey Pieper who also racked up seven digs and a .500 hitting percentage.
 
Rutgers-Newark 25, Ramapo 20
A back-and-forth start to the match had the two sides tied at 10 after 20 points, but five of the next six for Rutgers-Newark punctuated by a solo block from Sorrell forced a Roadrunner timeout trailing 15-11.
 
Crumlish came through with a monster spike to give Rutgers-Newark an 18-13 advantage, but a quick 4-0 run for the guests made it a one-point set, forcing a timeout from Scarlet Raider Head Coach Pedro Trevino.
 
Again Crumlish came through, slowing the Ramapo momentum with two more winners, and moments later Sandy clinched the 1-0 lead with a hammer.
 
Rutgers-Newark 25, Ramapo 10
Rutgers-Newark turned a 2-0 deficit into a 5-2 lead thanks to three-straight Sandy kills, and a splendid defensive sequence from junior setter Arnan Romua led to a kill from Pieper that allowed the Raiders to open a four-point margin shortly thereafter.
 
A block from Crumlish and Sorrell helped Rutgers double-up the guests at 12-6, and another denial – this one from freshman Travis Emenaker and senior Dom Gutowski – extended the Newark lead to 16-8.
 
A thunderous kill from Pieper propelled the Scarlet Raiders to their first 10-point margin of the match (19-9), and the hosts cruised, locking up the 2-0 lead behind the serve of Crumlish and a loud spike from Gutowski.
 
Rutgers-Newark 25, Ramapo 22
The Roadrunners opened a 10-7 edge early in the third, but with the help of a trio of Ramapo errors, Newark quickly tied things at 11, eventually taking the lead on a nifty Pieper kill (14-13).
 
Ramapo came back to tie things at 17, but back-to-back blocks for the Scarlet Raiders made the score 20-17 in favor of the hosts.
 
A kill from the Roadrunners' Brenden Russell pulled the Roadrunners back within one point (22-21), but a Sandy answer gave Rutgers-Newark some breathing room, and a huge bouncer from Pieper ended it.
 
The sweep is the 10th during the 12-match winning streak for the Scarlet Raiders who last dropped a set exactly one month ago (January 27) against Lehman College. R-N has now won 36 of its last 38 sets played.
 
Rutgers-Newark ended the action with a superb .378 hitting percentage, including marks of .393 and .455 in the first two sets of the match. The Raiders totaled 45.5 points on 35 kills, one ace and nine blocks, notching 33 assists and 35 digs. Ramapo finished with 37 points on 31 winners, four aces and two denials, hitting .060 overall.
 
Sorrell (five), Crumlish (four) and Emenaker (four) led the blockers, while Romua (19) and Emenaker (12) combined for 31 assists. Sophomore libero Jake Connors lifted a team-high nine digs, with Pieper and Sandy lifting seven apiece, and Pieper (11), Sandy (seven), Crumlish (seven), Sorrell (five; .500) and Gutowski (four) all putting down multiple kills.
 
Rutgers-Newark returns to action Wednesday night in The Golden Dome with a highly anticipated matchup with newly minted CVC rival and seventh-ranked Kean University. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m. and admission is FREE for anyone with a Rutgers-Newark ID.