Box Score

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (September 4, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team improved to 1-1 on the young 2018 season with a 3-0 sweep at the College of Staten Island Tuesday night.
 
The set scores were an identical 25-19 in all three sets.
 
Rutgers-Newark will return to the court Thursday when the Scarlet Raiders host Pratt inside The Golden Dome. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m. and admission is free.
 
The Scarlet Raiders took control with a 25-19 win in the first set. Senior Cassie Luken had seven points on the back of five kills, and sophomore Dahlia Shoukry had two winners and two aces. After trading points early, Newark pushed a one-point lead to six (12-6) and the Dolphins could get no closer than four the rest of the set.
 
CSI jumped out to an early lead in the second, but a 7-2 run for the guests turned the momentum and gave the Scarlet Raiders a 14-10 advantage. Sophomore Karly Gregoire and Luken had aces in the rally, with Luken and junior Comfort Akinbo putting down a pair of winners.
 
Another Luken spike pushed the Rutgers-Newark lead to seven (20-13), but CSI fought back to get within two at 21-19. Newcomer Meredith Moore came through with a big winner to slow the momentum and Gregoire came through with a clutch service ace to give the Raiders some breathing room at 23-19. A second-straight ace from Gregoire gave Newark set point, and a Dolphin error locked up the 2-0 lead.
 
The two sides split the first 18 points evenly in the third frame, but the Scarlet Raiders erupted for seven-straight points to create some separation. Junior Brione Lockett delivered a pair of aces in the rally, and Moore hammered home a pair of spikes.
 
Despite the large deficit, CSI did fight back, slicing the Scarlet Raiders lead to two with five-straight points and moments later it trimmed the lead to one.
 
One (20-19) is as close as the Dolphins would get as Rutgers-Newark ripped off the final five points in the match to even its record at 1-1.
 
Luken led the Scarlet Raiders with 14 kills, three aces, six digs and two blocks. Lockett had 15 digs and two aces, while veteran Analis Capobianco and newcomer Sharon Starling each lifted 10 digs and totaled a pair of aces.  Moore and Akinbo each had six winners and three digs and Gregoire and Starling each dished out 15 helpers.
 
R-N finished the match with 55 points on 36 kills, 16 aces and three blocks. The Scarlet Raiders hit .210 overall while holding the dolphins to a .129 hitting percentage, and the guests lifted 51 digs.