NEW HAVEN, Conn. | The Scarlet Raiders women's volleyball team extended their win streak to five in a row this afternoon with a pair of wins at Albertus Magnus College. Rutgers University-Newark (16-8) swept the day with a 3-0 (25-16, 27-25, 25-20) win over the host, Albertus Magnus (7-17). The Scarlet Raiders then followed that win up with a 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-19, 25-13) win over Saint Joseph's-Maine (7-17). 

Match 1: Rutgers University-Newark 3, Albertus Magnus 0

The Scarlet Raiders came out strong and hit .219 as a squad, capped by a 16-kill second set. Comfort Akinbo paced the Scarlet Raiders with 17 kills in the match while Sharon Starling collected 10. Karly Gregoire had an outstanding day as she tallied 40 assists while Ashley Rivas led the way with 14 digs.

Rutgers University-Newark trailed for the first part of the opening set before Analis Capobianco picked up a pair of service aces to tie the set up at eight. Albertus Magnus took a one-point lead, however, a service error knotted the set up at 10. The Scarlet Raiders blew the set open with an 8-0 run to take an 18-10 lead which was the boost they needed to take a 1-0 lead in the match. 

The second set saw the total goal past the 25 limit as neither team was able to take control of the set. Rutgers University-Newark held a lead late before Albertus Magnus stormed back to put them within one point of the win. Dahlia Shoukry made sure that didn't happen as she found an opening in the defense and executed her strike to tie the set up at 24. Akinbo came up big for the Scarlet Raiders after they fell behind 25-24 and she secured three straight kills to push her team to the win. 

In the final set of the match, the Scarlet Raiders used a 7-0 run to grab the lead they wouldn't relinquish. During that run, Akinbo picked up four kills. Shoukry put the Scarlet Raiders one point away from victory with a solo block which led to a kill by Akinbo to sweep the match.

Match 2: Rutgers University-Newark 3, Saint Joseph's-Maine 1

The Scarlet Raiders improved their hitting from the first match to .245 and started the match with 17 kills. Akinbo and Starling exploded for 24 and 19 kills, respectively. Gregoire followed up her 40 assist match with a 52 assist performance against St. Joseph's Maine. Capobianco led the way with 17 digs while Shoukry secured five service aces.

With a 17-13 lead, the Scarlet Raiders looked prime to run away with the opening set of the match. Saint Joseph's-Maine had other ideas as they went on a 6-0 run to take a 19-17 lead which forced the Scarlet Raiders to call a timeout. The timeout proved to be successful as they were able to slow down the Monks and claw their way into the lead. 

The Monks responded by taking the second set 25-20 after using a run in the middle of the set to take the lead and ride it to the end of the set.

The Scarlet Raiders responded with a win in the third set after a run gave them the lead. Trailing 13-9, Brione Lockett tallied a pair of service aces while errors plagued St. Joseph's-Maine to give Rutgers University-Newark a 15-13 lead. The Monks tried to find their way back into the set but were unable to overcome the surging Scarlet Raiders.

With a 2-1 lead in the match, the Scarlet Raiders closed out the match with their best hitting performance of the day. As a team, they hit .406 with 16 kills. The women would cruise to a 25-13 win in the fourth set to complete a 2-0 day.

Up next for the Scarlet Raiders is a match against Montclair State University on Tuesday, October 22 at 7:00 pm in the Golden Dome.