NEWARK, N.J. | In a meeting between New Jersey Athletic Conference opponents, Kean University toppled Rutgers University-Newark, 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-18). The Cougars move to 15-6, 4-0, while the Scarlet Raiders continue their slide and fall to 10-7, 1-2.
The Cougars opened the match with a 7-0 run which forced the Scarlet Raiders to call a time out to try and cool off the surging Cougars. Out of the timeout, the Scarlet Raiders finally got in the game, using a kill from
Comfort Akinbo. Rutgers University-Newark tried to play their way back into the set but were only able to get as close as five as the Cougars kept them at bay. Towards the end of the set, the Scarlet Raiders made one last push with a pair of kills from Akinbo and an ace from
Karly Gregoire but it was too little too late as Jesse Larkin tallied a kill to close out set one.
The second set saw the Scarlet Raiders take a 2-1 lead early on, with Akinbo once again responsible for the points. Kean University rallied off four points in a row to take the lead for good. The Scarlet Raiders, however, kept it close all set and nearly regained the lead on several occasions.
Sharon Starling and
Alexa Rivera picked up kills on their way to cutting the lead down to one. Kean would respond with a 6-0 to run away with the second set.
Both teams would find their stride in the final set, with each squad going on runs. Down 9-3,
Dahlia Shoukry and Gregoire leaped up to the top of the net to record a block and bring their team within five. From there the Scarlet Raiders continued to chip away at the Cougars until midway through the set they found themselves down one. Kean would extend their lead to 19-14 after using a 4-0 run which closed the door on the Scarlet Raiders.
As a team, the Scarlet Raiders his .162 while the Cougars hit .292. Akinbo led all players with 16 kills while
Alexa Rivera collected seven and led the team with 11 digs. Gregoire finished the match with 21 assists while also leading with one service ace.
The Scarlet Raiders return to action on Thursday, October 3 when they travel to Brooklyn College for a non-conference match at 6:00 pm.
