Cincinnati, Ohio (March 13, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team split two matches in Cincinnati Tuesday night, moving to 14-4 on the season. The Scarlet Raiders began the day with a tough five-set loss to Wittenberg University, but they bounced back with an upset of nationally-ranked No. 12 Mount Saint Joseph.
After relinquishing a 2-0 lead in a five-set loss to start the day, Rutgers-Newark showed a lot of character in bouncing back for a win against a top-notch opponent.
"To end up losing the opener tonight was tough, but I am proud that we were able to bounce back with a win over a really good team," said Head Coach
Pedro Trevino after the win. "Now we need bottle that up and use it as we look to put together a strong run down the stretch."
Senior
Corey Pieper was magnificent, putting down 52 kills in the two matches. The senior had 26 in each contest with a hitting percentage over .300 in each as well. He averaged 6.5 kills per set, adding a total of 13 digs and six blocks to his spectacular line.
Up Next: Rutgers-Newark will visit Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) rival Kean University March 21, and the Raiders return to The Golden Dome with a tri-match on March 24.
Wittenberg 3, Rutgers-Newark 2 (23-25, 19-25, 25-18, 25-23, 15-13)
Wittenberg was able to overcome a 2-0 deficit against the Scarlet Raiders to earn the win. In the fifth set, the Tigers scored 8-of-11 to open an 8-3 lead at the switch. Rutgers-Newark roared back, getting within one after a kill from senior
Jalen Sorrell, and a winner from senior
Justin Sandy moments later tied things at 13-all. Unfortunately, Wittenberg was able to score the final two points to complete the comeback win.
Pieper was a monster for the Scarlet Raiders, putting down 26 kills with a .339 hitting percentage. He had 10 digs for a double-double, adding four blocks for good measure. Senior
Ricky Crumlish had 10 kills and four digs, while senior
Dom Gutowski and Sandy each had six winners. Gutowski added five blocks, and junior setter
Arnan Romua had 28 assists and 10 digs for a double-double of his own. Sophomore libero
Jake Connors lifted 15 digs, with Sandy notching eight.
Newark scored 63 points in all via 51 kills, two aces and 10 blocks. The Raiders hit .248 overall with 49 assists and 53 digs. The Tigers finished the five-setter with 68 points on 50 kills, 13 aces and five denials. They hit .186 overall.
Early in the action it was all Rutgers-Newark as the Raiders led 10-5 after 15 points. The Tigers came back to tie things at 15, but R-N was able to take the 1-0 lead.
Newark raced out to a 7-2 lead in the second, and after Wittenberg came back to get within one at 15-14, five kills from Pieper down the stretch sealed the 2-0 advantage.
The Tigers were able to comfortably get the third set and they scored the last three points to secure the fourth in tight fashion, setting up the fifth and final set.
Rutgers-Newark 3, No. 12 MSJ 0 (25-23, 30-28, 25-19)
The Scarlet Raiders earned their 14th win against the 12th-ranked team in the land, snapping a three-match skid in the process.
Late in the first set, a Pieper kill staked Rutgers-Newark to a 23-22 lead, and after Mt. St. Joseph tied things up, two errors helped the Raiders take a 1-0 edge over the hosts.
Rutgers put together a magnificent comeback to take a 2-0 advantage in the match. Trailing 23-19, R-N rallied to tie at 24, with back-to-back kills from Pieper lifting Rutgers-Newark to a 30-28 set win. The gritty Scarlet Raiders were able to fight off five set points in the second.
The adrenaline from the thrilling previous set triumph seemed to ignite Rutgers-Newark in the third. The two squads split the first 10 points, but a winner from Pieper gave the guests an 11-8 lead. Moments later, Newark would lock up the win with a 5-0 run featuring kills from Pieper and Sandy and Sorrell-Sandy and Pieper-Sorrell rejections.
A Lion error allowed Newark to open its first 10-point lead of the set at 23-13, and despite a late flurry from MSJ, Rutgers-Newark closed out the sweep with a Crumlish winner.
Rutgers-Newark ended the match with 57 points via 47 kills and 10 rejections. The team rang up 45 assists and 36 digs, hitting .213 while holding MSJ to a .066 mark.
Pieper added two blocks and three digs to his monstrous 26-kill line, and Crumlish put down 10 winners with five digs. Sandy had seven kills, six blocks and seven digs, and Connors had 15 digs to give him 30 for the day. Romua (22) and freshman
Travis Emenaker (21) combined for 43 assists and Gutowski had five blocks.
