UNION, N.J. (September 25, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team suffered its first New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) loss at Kean University Tuesday night, falling to the Cougars, 3-0.
 
Rutgers-Newark drops to 2-1 in the NJAC and 10-4 overall, while Kean improves to 12-6 overall and 4-0 in league play. The Scarlet Raiders will look to get back into the win column Friday when they visit Delaware Valley College in a non-conference showdown.
 
Tuesday night's set scores were 25-12, 25-7 and 25-12.
 
Kean was able to control a great deal of the action as the banged up Scarlet Raiders struggled generate enough firepower to pick up a third conference win in three tries.
 
The Cougars scored the first 11 points of the match, with senior Cassie Luken securing the first Newark kill moments later. R-N would trim the deficit to eight (12-4), but Kean was able to close the door to take a 1-0 lead. In the second, the hosts scored 14 of the first 20 tallies, and ended the frame on a 12-1 run to take a 2-0 lead.
 
In the third and final set, the two teams traded points early, but a 9-2 spurt gave the Cougars some breathing room (15-5). A block from freshman Meredith Moore and junior Epiphani Woodard followed by a Kean error allowed Rutgers to get within seven (15-8), but Kean regained control to close out the win.
 
Luken led Rutgers-Newark with eight kills, and freshman Sharon Starling put down five. Woodard and Moore each had two denials, and sophomore setter Karly Gregoire dished out a team-high 10 assists. Junior Brione Lockett lifted nine digs, with Gregoire and Luken chipping in seven apiece, and the Scarlet Raiders ended the match with 18 points on 15 spikes, two blocks and an ace. R-N posted 34 digs as a unit as well.
 
The Cougars finished with 54 points thanks to 44 kills, nine aces and four blocks, registering 41 assists and 47 digs.

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