Highlights
NEWARK, N.J. (March 24, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team picked up two nice wins in The Golden Dome Saturday, topping Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) rival Eastern Mennonite University in a five-set thriller, and rolling over non-league foe Mount Saint Vincent, 3-0.
Rutgers-Newark improves to 6-2 in the CVC and 16-4 overall and has already locked up a spot in the upcoming CVC Tournament. Eastern Mennonite moves to 19-10 (8-4 CVC) and Mount Saint Vincent drops to 10-12.
Rutgers-Newark 3, Eastern Mennonite 2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 15-11)
Senior
Corey Pieper put down at least 23 kills for a third-straight match and the Scarlet Raiders topped a tough EMU squad 3-2 in an absolute thriller of a match to improve to 6-2 in CVC play.
In the fifth and deciding set, a kill from Pieper tied things at six and the Scarlet Raiders took an 8-7 lead at the switch with a hammer from senior
Ricky Crumlish. Three-straight EMU errors allowed Rutgers-Newark to open an 11-8 lead and back-to-back Pieper kills clinched the clutch win.
Pieper finished with 23 kills and 15 digs for his second double-double in three outings, adding three blocks, and Crumlish had 11 kills and nine digs. Sophomore libero
Jake Connors lifted 13 digs, while freshman setter
Travis Emenaker dished out a career-high 45 assists. Freshman
Kyle Loesner had 11 big kills, adding eight digs to his line, and senior middle
Dom Gutowski had four blocks.
Newark finished the match with 67 points on 57 kills, six blocks and four aces, hitting .187 overall and racking up 55 digs. EMU had 82 points on 67 kills, 11 blocks and four aces, hitting .227.
The Royals were able to take a tight first set, 25-23, coming back from a 19-16 deficit. Pieper led the Scarlet Raiders with six kills (.417), but the Royals were able to end the opening frame on a 9-4 run to take the lead.
In the second, EMU ripped off 5-of-6 to start, but Newark quickly responded, tying the score at six with a solo block from Pieper. Loesner gave Rutgers a 13-12 advantage after 25 tallies, and the two teams found themselves tied at 15 after 30.
Things remained incredibly tight, but Newark did enough down the stretch to tie things at one. Pieper put down the clincher, giving the hosts a 25-23 set two triumph.
After falling behind 5-3 early in the third, Rutgers-Newark answered with five-straight tallies to open an 8-5 advantage. The see-saw continued with EMU rallying to tie at 10, and a kill from Pieper put the Scarlet Raiders back on top (15-12). Things stayed close as the two teams were tied at 20-all after 40, but the hosts prevailed late, getting an ace from senior middle
Dom Gutowski to lock down a 2-1 lead.
With the momentum in favor of Rutgers-Newark, the hosts raced out to a 6-1 lead in the fourth. Pieper delivered a pair of thunderous kills and the Scarlet Raider defense was excellent, igniting the crowd and forcing an EMU timeout. The Royals responded, tying things at nine after a Dan Lutz-Christian Taylor block, and they eventually opened an 18-16 lead following a kill from senior Tim Callahan. EMU would go on to close out the fourth to force the fifth and final frame.
Rutgers-Newark 3, CMSV 0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-15)
Crumlish hammered home a team-high 13 kills to pace Rutgers-Newark in the sweep as the Scarlet Raiders saw 12 more kills from Pieper and seven from Loesner. Gutowski tallied four more rejections, Emenaker dished out 34 assists and the trio of Loesner, Crumlish and Connors all lifted nine digs.
The Scarlet Raiders totaled 51 points on 41 kills, six blocks and four aces, hitting .237 for the match. Mount Saint Vincent finished hitting .011 with 30 points, 21 kills, seven blocks and two aces.
Newark cruised to a 1-0 lead in the first set, getting multiple kills from Pieper, Loesner and a team-leading five from Crumlish.
The Scarlet Raiders scored 7-of-10 to open the second, but the Dolphins rallied to tie and the teams went point-for-point for much of the set. However, a kill from freshman
Nicholas Arce-Cox and two-straight winners from Crumlish sparked the Raiders to a 25-20 triumph in the second and a 2-0 lead.
Rutgers ripped off 6-of-8 to start following a Loesner ace and did not slow down, opening a 9-2 lead and forcing a MSV timeout. The Raiders continued to roll, doubling up the guests at 18-9 and 22-11 before eventually settling on a 25-15 final.
Up next: Rutgers-Newark will hit the road for a tough five-game stretch that begins Tuesday night at Neumann University. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m.
