NEWARK, N.J. (September 20, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team continued its fantastic run tonight in The Golden Dome against New Jersey Athletic Conference foe Ramapo College, defeating the visitors 3-1 for the Scarlet Raiders' seventh consecutive victory.

R-N improves to 9-2 (2-0 NJAC) while the Roadrunners drop to 4-8 (1-2 NJAC).

The Raiders had a strong offensive night that only got better as the match progressed, racking up 50 kills to 39 for Ramapo while committing just 14 errors to 26 for the away side. Rutgers-Newark ended the match with a .269 attacking percentage led by career nights from sophomore Comfort Akinbo and rookie Sharon Starling.

Akinbo was the top performer with a double-double of 21 kills and 15 digs, both career-bests, while Starling nearly had a double-double of her own with 16 winners and nine digs, also both career-highs. Junior Brione Lockett had a match-best 27 digs and sophomore Karly Gregoire orchestrated the attack with an incredible 42 assists.

The Raiders look to continue their streak this Saturday when they face The College at Old Westbury and hosts Albertus Magnus College in a tri-match beginning at 1 p.m.

Ramapo 25, Rutgers-Newark 20
The first set was a see-saw affair featuring 10 ties and 10 lead changes. The Scarlet Raiders last lead of the frame came when junior Epiphani Woodard spiked one down to make it 13-12. That slight edge was extended to two before the visitors went on a decisive 6-0 spurt to claim the largest advantage for either side at 18-14. Newark would get back within four at 23-19 and 24-20, both on kills by Akinbo, but the Roadrunners closed out the set, 25-20.

The teams had a nearly identical attacking stanza with 12 kills apiece on 36 attempts, but R-N committed five errors to Ramapo's four. The difference came on the serve where the home side had four service faults to just one for the visitors while the Roadrunners held a 3-2 edge in aces.

Rutgers-Newark 25, Ramapo 17
In the second set, after an early back-and-forth, the Raiders gained a 12-8 edge on consecutive kills from Starling that forced Ramapo to call a timeout. Still, R-N was able to extend its advantage to 14-8 after the break on yet another spike by Starling. However, soon after, the visitors began to chip away.

Trailing 15-10, the Roadrunners won six of the next seven points to even the score at 16-16. Despite losing their lead, the Scarlet Raiders rallied to win two points in a row and were back up by a slim 18-17 margin.

From there, Rutgers-Newark regained complete control, rattling off seven straight tallies to take the set 25-17 and even the match a 1-1.   

The Raiders outhit Ramapo with an 11-9 edge in kills and just five errors to 10 for the visitors. Starling was fantastic in the stanza, racking up eight winners to spark the home team.

Rutgers-Newark 25, Ramapo 15
Tied at 5-5 in the third game, Ramapo looked to pull away early, building a 10-6 advantage. Newark would not back down, however, and quickly rallied. Woodard started off the surge with a spike and capped an eventual 7-0 run, that also featured a pair of aces by Gregoire, with another kill to send the Raiders in front 13-10. The Roadrunners earned the next point, but that was as close as they would get in the period.

Newark closed the pivotal third stanza on a fantastic 12-4 tear that saw four different players get a kill. Akinbo led the pack with four winners during that stretch while the Scarlet Raiders closed the set on a sneaky spike from Gregoire and ace by sophomore Dahlia Shoukry to win 25-15 and take a 2-1 edge for the match.

R-N had its best attacking set by far, racking up 13 kills to just two errors for a terrific .393 attacking percentage.

Rutgers-Newark 25, Ramapo 16
Leading 6-4 in the fourth set, the Scarlet Raiders looked to run away with the game. Newark went on a quick 5-0 spurt that began with an Akinbo spike and was capped by an Akinbo ace to claim an 11-4 edge.

While the Roadrunners were able to close to within 13-9, that is as close as the visitors would get. Woodard and Akinbo combined for three straight kills to make it 16-9, providing a comfortable cushion for the Raiders.

Up 18-13, Rutgers-Newark put the finishing touches on an impressive performance with a 6-0 surge that featured winners by Gregoire, Akinbo, and junior Analis Capobianco. Ramapo attempted one last rally by spoiling three straight match points, but Akinbo sealed the victory on the fourth attempt.

The Scarlet Raiders closed out the match with another great offensive set, tallying 14 kills to only two errors for a .375 attacking percentage.