BUENA VISTA, Va. (March 31, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team was topped by Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) rival and nationally-ranked No. 12 Southern Virginia University Saturday in Buena Vista, Va. The final score was 3-1 (25-22, 25-15, 25-27, 25-22).
Rutgers-Newark falls to 17-7 overall and 7-5 in league play, while Southern Virginia improves to 16-7 overall and 7-4 in the CVC. The Scarlet Raiders return to the court Tuesday at Ramapo College in the team's final conference match of the year. R-N has already locked up a conference tournament berth and will host the opening round of the tournament.
Playing their fourth road match in five days and third-straight road match against a nationally-ranked team, the Scarlet Raiders showed a lot in forcing a fourth set.
Down 2-0 in the third, Newark opened an 11-9 edge after 20 points. SVU came back with 5-of-6 to take a 14-12 lead but a block from senior middle
Jalen Sorrell and
Dom Gutowski put a cap on a 4-0 Rutgers rally to put the guests back on top 16-14. Spikes from seniors
Corey Pieper and
Ricky Crumlish followed by a Pieper ace gave Rutgers-Newark a 23-21 lead, and after SVU came back to get match point, the Scarlet Raiders scored the final three points of the set to keep playing.
In the fourth, the two teams were tied at 12, but Virginia went on a 4-0 run to go on top 16-12. R-N did not go away, clawing back within one twice (17-16, 21-20), but the Raiders could not get over the hump and SVU was able to get the win.
The Scarlet Raiders racked up 55 points on 39 kills, nine aces and seven blocks, dishing out 35 assists and lifting 37 digs. Southern Virginia finished the match with 66 points on 55 spikes, six aces and five blocks, hitting .310.
Pieper led the offense with 15 kills and four aces, and junior
Brendon Frank and Crumlish each had seven winners. Gutowski and Sorrell each posted three blocks, and Crumlish pocketed a team-high 13 digs. Sophomore libero
Jake Connors lifted eight digs and junior
Arnan Romua handed out a team-leading 21 assists.
In the first set, the two sides went back-and-forth to start, but a 4-0 run for SVU turned a one-point margin to five (22-17) and the hosts held on to take a 1-0 lead. In the second, a 15-3 run for Southern Virginia gave the hosts a 24-12 lead, and the Knights eventually closed things out for a 2-0 lead.
Tuesday's match at Ramapo is slated for a 7 p.m. start from the Bradley Center in Mahwah.
