UNION, N.J. (March 29, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team withstood fierce competition from Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) opponent Kean University but fell 3-1.

The set scores stood at 18-25, 25-11, 25-13, 25-15 as the Scarlet Raiders fell 3-1. The nationally-ranked No. 4 Cougars snap the visitors' four match winning streak and improve to 28-2 overall (9-1 CVC), while the Scarlet Raiders move to 17-5 (7-3 CVC). Prior to Thursday night, Kean had won 12-straight sets.

Newark claimed a convincing advantage by winning the first set 25-18 on the road against a top-ranked team behind an exceptional .417 attacking percentage. The Raiders converted 13 kills against three errors to earn that mark and a commanding 1-0 advantage for the match.

Still, that attacking success would not be sustainable as the visitors could not crack a .100 attacking percentage in the remaining three sets, allowing the nationally-ranked Cougars to take control and cruise to a 3-1 victory.

Despite a tough match overall, senior Corey Pieper delivered with 12 kills and a strong .233 attacking percentage on 30 attempts. Classmate Jalen Sorrell recorded a team-best .273 attacking percentage with four spikes. Rookie Travis Emenaker had a squad-high 15 assists and junior Arnan Romua added 12 helpers to guide the offense. Senior Ricky Crumlish compiled five digs to lead the Raiders, while Pieper and sophomore libero Jake Connors each had four.

Newark has a spot in the upcomng CVC Tournament locked up and the Raiders have two more tough league road matches on the Horizon this weekend. Friday, Rutgers-Newark visits sixth-ranked Marymount University (7 p.m.) and Saturday it will square off against No. 12 Southern Virginia University. Next week, the Scarlet Raiders will visit CVC foe Ramapo College to close out the conference schedule, and they will host cross-river-rival NYU in The Golden Dome Thursday for Senior Night (7 p.m.).