ARLINGTON, VA | The eighth-ranked men's volleyball program finished their Virginia road trip with a pair of wins to keep their record unblemished this afternoon at Marymount University. After disposing of Randolph-Macon yesterday, the Scarlet Raiders took down Marymount to improve their Continental Volleyball Conference record to 2-0 then knocked off Misericordia in their second match of the day. For just the third and fourth time this season, the Scarlet Raiders surrendered a set. 

The Scarlet Raiders improved to 9-0, 2-0 on the year while Marymount dropped to 8-9, 2-2 and Misericordia fell to 7-6. 

Match 1: No. 8 Rutgers University-Newark 3, Marymount University 1 (25-21, 25-15, 21-25, 25-22)

As a team in the first match, the Scarlet Raiders hit .214 and saw their kill total increase in every set which came to the peak in the fourth set when they tallied 15 kills. Andrew Zaleck paced the team with 18 kills while Robert Long picked up an efficient 13 for a hitting percentage of .393. Justin Tuohy secured 39 assists and also led the team with 10 digs. Daniel Quay and Zaleck teamed up at the net to block 6 and 5 attacks, respectively. 

Marymount was led by Sam Safley's 15 kills while Ervin Harrell dug a team-high 11 attacks. Joseph Zanelotti earned 35 assists in the match and recorded just one error. 

The opening set saw both teams go back-and-forth in the rally as neither team could gain a foothold in the set. Late in the set, the Scarlet Raiders began to gain momentum which led to them going on a 4-0 run with kills by Arvind Kumar, Long and Zaleck to break open the stalemate and take the lead. A pair of service errors by the Saints gave the Scarlet Raiders set point which set up Long to secure the lead for his team.

Off of the strong finish in the opening game, the Scarlet Raiders used that to win set two in dominating fashion. Halfway through the set, they held just a one-point, 12-11, lead until they blew the set open with a 7-0 run to take a 19-11 lead. Down by eight, the Saints tried to rally back but the Scarlet Raiders were too strong as they closed out the set to take a 2-0 lead in the match. 

Marymount rebounded in the third stanza and took a set from the Scarlet Raiders to prevent the sweep. With a one-point lead, Marymount found their groove and jumped out to a five-point lead and this time, they didn't allow the Scarlet Raiders' machine to get going.

In a close fourth set, the Scarlet Raiders would prevail after the Saints made a late push. Rutgers University-Newark held a six-point lead and needed just a pair to pick up the win, however, Marymount scored four straight points to make it a two-point set, 23-21. Quay and Long picked up kills when their team needed them most as the Scarlet Raiders went on to win the match. 

Match 2: No. 8 Rutgers University-Newark 3, Misericordia 1 (25-14, 21-25, 25-19, 25-13)

The Scarlet Raiders hit .298 in their second match of the day and secured double-digit kills in each set. Kumar led the team with 16 kills while Zaleck and Long followed up with 13 and 12, respectively. Tuohy once again led the team with 32 assists but Travis Emenaker added 11 as well.

The Cougars were led by Billy Murphy's 12 kills and Kylan Sellitti's 25 assists. Ryan Miller paced the team with seven block assists while Conner Westerfield secured 9 digs.

Rutgers University-Newark cruised to an opening match win against Misericordia after using a 8-1 run mid set which pushed the lead too far away from the Cougars. During that stretch, Emenaker served up a pair of aces while Zaleck used his skill to add a pair of kills. With the large lead, the Scarlet Raiders didn't back down and kept the pressure on which allowed them to win 25-14 in the opening stanza.

The Cougars stole the second set from the Scarlet Raiders to even the match at one after stringing together small runs down the stretch.

With the match level at one, The Scarlet Raiders regained their form from the first set and jumped out to an 18-10 lead. The Cougars answered with a 4-0 run to cut the lead down to just four, however, the Scarlet Raiders inched closer to the win and closed the door on the Cougars' comeback attempt with three straight points at the end. 

The fourth and final set saw the Scarlet Raiders power their way past the Cougars to seal the match in their favor.

Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball team returns to action on Tuesday, February 18 when they host Immaculata at 7:00 pm.