NEWARK, NJ | The Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball program started their 2020 campaign off with a pair of wins after sweeping Mount Saint Vincent in the opening match, 3-0 (25-9, 25-9, 25-10), then dispersing Messiah College, 4-1 (20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 26-24) in the closing match. The Scarlet Raiders improved to 2-0 on the year, while Mount Saint Vincent dropped to 0-3 and Messiah fell to 1-2. 

Match 1: Rutgers-Newark 3, Mt. St. Vincent 0

Robert Long led the Scarlet Raiders with seven tallies in the kill column while a trio of Scarlet Raiders finished with five (Kyle Loesner, Elan Dorkhman, David Mrowko). Antonio Rocchio paced the squad with 11 assists. Travis Emenaker and Justin Tuohy each secured three service aces.

The Scarlet Raiders got off to a hot start and quickly jumped out to a 10-1 lead over the Dolphins. Kills by Daniel Quay and newcomer Andrew Zaleck aided the run for Rutgers-Newark. The Dolphins couldn't find an answer for the high-powered Scarlet Raider offense which would be the theme throughout the afternoon.

In the second set, the Scarlet Raiders picked up more steam and held the Dolphins to just six total points. Once again, the Scarlet Raiders had early success and cruised to a 14-2 lead. During that stretch, Emenaker picked up three service aces while the Dolphins continued to commit attacking errors. 

Mount Saint Vincent started to put a rally together in the third set but it was too late as they trailed 17-5. The Scarlet Raiders went on to close out the match on a 4-0 run which gave new Head Coach Jack Wilson his first collegiate win as a head coach. 

Match 2: Rutgers-Newark 3, Messiah 1

Once Kumar and Zaleck got going in the second match they became hard to stop. They each tallied 17 kills and hit .294 and .278, respectively. Tuohy led the team with 39 assists while the team tallied 14 blocks with Quay and Tuohy both securing five. 

Matt Schaefer paced the Falcons with eight kills while Noah Shreiner and Luke Olson added seven kills each. Matt Knab led the team with 21 assists and six blocks. 

Coming off of a sweep of Mount Saint Vincent, the Falcons of Messiah College were ready to take on the Scarlet Raiders who were dormant since their first match of the afternoon. 

Messiah came out and took the opening set against the Scarlet Raiders 25-20. Rutgers-Newark was down 18-13 towards the end of the set and rallied back to knot it up at 19-19. A service ace by Emenaker and a pair of kills by Kumar helped the Scarlet Raiders surge. The Falcons were able to withstand the comeback and use a 4-0 run at the end of the set to win, 25-20. 

The Scarlet Raiders would take control from the second set on. Attacking errors plagued the Falcons from the first serve and the Scarlet Raiders took advantage as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Messiah chipped away at the lead and found themselves down just a pair in the mid part of the set. Long and Zaleck teamed up and extended their lead to 16-10. The Falcons were unable to find their stride and fell to even the match at one.

In the third set, Messiah took an early lead, however, the Scarlet Raiders quickly leveled the playing field and used that momentum to take a 15-8 lead. Despite a late surge by the Falcons, the Scarlet Raiders were able to hold onto their lead and take a 2-1 lead in the match. 

Messiah looked determined to set the match into a fifth set in the fourth, jumping out to a 13-9 lead. the Scarlet Raiders settled in and went on a 5-0 run led by Quay, who was serving, to flip the script and take a 14-13 lead. With the match on the line, the score continued to flip flop. With the score tied at 24, Zaleck stepped up for the team and put them up one before an attacking error by Messiah closed the match out in the Scarlet Raiders' favor. 

Rutgers University-Newark returns to action on Friday, January 31 when they host Pratt at 7:00 pm.