NEWARK, N.J. (September 14, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team continued its hot streak tonight in The Golden Dome, defeating visiting New England College 3-0 for its fourth consecutive victory. The Scarlet Raiders improve to 6-2 while the Pilgrims fall to 2-9.

Rutgers-Newark Senior Cassie Luken led the way with 10 kills and sophomore Comfort Akinbo added nine. Rookie Sharon Starling had the best attacking night of her young career, racking up eight winners on a stellar .583 attacking percentage. Junior Analis Capobianco led the squad with nine digs while classmate Brione Lockett and sophomore Karly Gregoire each contributed seven. Gregoire also orchestrated the offense with 29 assists.

In the first set, the visitors got out on the front foot, claiming an early 6-3 edge. Still, the home side struck back quickly, winning five of the next six points to take a slim 8-7 lead. From that point on, there would be another four ties and four lead changes before the Raiders began to pull away.

A pair of kills by Akinbo helped Newark break a 13-13 deadlock and gain a 16-13 advantage. After NEC made it 16-14, spikes by Lockett and sophomore Dahlia Shoukry plus an ace from Starling allowed the home team to reel off six consecutive points and take an insurmountable 22-14 lead.

Luken capped the 25-16 first set victory with a kill off a Gregoire feed.

The Scarlet Raiders flipped the script in the second set, jumping out to their own early lead, 9-4. However, the Pilgrims fought back to take the next four points and cut their deficit to just one. Kills by Luken and Starling aided R-N in winning four of the next five points to regain its five-point edge.

The Raiders extended that advantage to 18-11 and looked to pull away but NEC came roaring back. The Pilgrims won five points in a row to draw within striking distance and would complete their comeback as they trailed 23-19 late in the stanza.

New England rattled off another huge run, taking another five consecutive points to claim its first lead of the set at 24-23. Still, a Luken kill ended that surge and an Akinbo spike capped the game and a 26-24 win for Rutgers-Newark.

In the third set, the Raiders jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead and never looked back. The Pilgrims would get no closer than 7-3 as the home squad cruised to a 25-14 victory and sweep for the match. The trio of Luken, Starling, and Akinbo combined for 10 of Newark's 12 kills in the stanza.

The Scarlet Raiders look to continue their winning streak tomorrow when they travel to Maritime College for a tri-match with the hosts and Baruch College beginning at 11 a.m.