NEWARK, N.J. (March 1, 2019) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team swept visiting Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) foe Randolph-Macon College tonight in The Golden Dome, 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-13). The Scarlet Raiders improve to 8-3 (5-1 CVC) while the Yellow Jackets fall to 7-7 (3-2 CVC).  

Rutgers-Newark was led by senior Brendon Frank and rookie Arvind Kumar who each totaled 11 kills. Both hitters had a great match as Kumar racked up a .556 hitting percentage with Frank just behind him at .550 and no errors.  Junior Jake Connors recorded a team-best nine digs while Kumar contributed eight. Sophomore Travis Emenaker and senior Arnan Romua helped facilitate the offense with 21 and 14 assists, respectively.

The Raiders have a very short turnaround as they host a tri-match with CVC opponent Marymount University and non-conference foe Hunter College tomorrow beginning at 11 a.m.

In the first set, R-N broke open a 14-11 contest with a crucial 7-0 surge. Freshman Elan Dorkhman began the run with a kill and would add two more during that stretch. Frank and Kumar also had winners while Emenaker capped the surge with a pair of aces to make it 21-11. Randolph-Macon would get no closer than seven the rest of the way as Kumar punctuated a 25-16 set win with another spike.

The second stanza was much closer with six lead changes and six ties. Leading 18-17, the hosts looked to pull away as freshman Danny Quay and sophomore Kyle Loesner featured in a quick 3-0 spurt that opened up a four-point edge. Still, the Yellow Jackets rallied with five of the next six to knot the game at 22-22. In the end, Frank came through for the Raiders with a pair of winners as the home side finished off the set with three of the last four points.

Rutgers-Newark made short work of RMC in the final stanza. The Scarlet Raiders turned a slight 4-3 edge into a 13-4 lead with a big 9-1 surge and never looked back. Frank featured heavily with three kills and an ace in that stretch while sophomore David Mrowko added a pair of winners and Loesner contributed a pair of aces. A Loesner spike extended the lead to 18-6 as the hosts cruised to a 25-13 set win and sweep.