PURCHASE, N.Y. (September 8, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team split a tri-match Saturday at Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y. to move to 3-2 on the 2018 season.
The Scarlet Raiders were topped in their first match of the day by the host Valiants, 3-1, but they came back to sweep Rosemont College in the nightcap, 3-0.
Junior
Comfort Akinbo totaled 29 kills in the two matches, while senior
Cassie Luken put down 24. Rookie
Sharon Starling delivered 10 total aces, and sophomore setter
Karly Gregoire dished out a strong 58 assists in the two matches.
The Scarlet Raiders will return to the hardwood Tuesday evening at Rutgers University-Camden in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) opener for both schools. Opening serve is slated for 7 p.m.
Manhattanville 3, Rutgers-Newark 1 (25-14, 25-18, 14-25, 25-23)
The host Valiants came out of the gate strong in the first match of the day, earning wins in the first two sets. R-N was able to extend the match with a strong showing in the third, but the Scarlet Raiders were unable to force a fifth set.
The Valiants scored 6-of-7 tallies to begin the contest, and led 18-7 after 25 points. The two sides traded points for the rest of the set as Manhattaville went on to secure the 1-0 lead, 25-14. In the second, the hosts took an early 7-3 edge, but R-N was able to cut the deficit to one (7-6) following a service ace from junior
Analis Capobianco. Newark eventually tied the set at 11, and again at 15, but late runs of 4-0 and 3-0 were enough for Manhattanville to hang on.
Rutgers-Newark took the upper-hand early in the third, ripping off seven of the first nine tallies. The Valiants came back to get within one (12-11), but a 6-1 Scarlet Raider rally was the difference in the 25-14 set-three-triumph.
R-N continued to fight in the fourth, but ultimately fell just short. After falling behind 14-9, the Raiders came back to tie at 17-all, and after the Valiants went back on top, Newark clawed back to even the score at 22. Unfortunately, the guests could not get over the hump, eventually falling, 25-23.
Akinbo led the Scarlet Raiders with 18 kills, with Luken putting down 15 and Starling pocketing six. Capobianco had two aces to lead R-N in that department. Akinbo, junior
Epiphani Woodard and sophomore
Dahlia Shoukry all had three or more blocks, while Gregoire racked up 35 assists and junior
Brione Lockett lifted a career-high 24 digs.
Rutgers-Newark 3, Rosemont 0 (25-22, 25-11, 27-25).
Akinbo and Luken combined for 20 kills to lead Rutgers-Newark to its third win in five matches this season. The Scarlet Raiders hit .163 in the match, recording 46 points on 27 kills, an excellent 17 aces and two total blocks.
Starling placed a career-high nine aces, Lockett lifted 15 digs to give her 39 in seven sets on the day, and Gregoire totaled 23 assists.
The Newark defense held RC to 36 points on 26 kills and eight aces, with Rosemont holding a 56-43 edge in total digs.
Rosemont (1-4) held a 14-11 edge after 25 points, but a 4-0 run behind the serve of Starling allowed the Scarlet Raiders to take an 18-16 lead. A see-saw opening set continued with RC taking the upper-hand at 20-19, but Rutgers-Newark ended the set on a 4-0 run, getting a set-clinching spike from Akinbo.
R-N took control with 8-of-9 to start the second and put the set away with a 10-0 run behind the serve of Starling. In that spurt, Starling had six of her nine aces, and the Scarlet Raiders cruised to a 2-0 lead.
The two sides traded rallies too open the third, but a 6-0 run from Rutgers turned a 14-13 deficit into a 19-14 lead. Lockett had three-straight aces in the run to spark the Raiders, but Rosemont did not quit, coming back to take the lead at 24-23. Starling would set Akinbo to fight off set point, with another Akinbo winner and a Rosemont error sealing the victory.
Fans should follow @ScarletRaiders on twitter and Instagram all season long for the latest on Rutgers-Newark women's volleyball.
