JERSEY CITY, NJ | The sixth-ranked Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball program pushed their record out to 12-0 this evening when they took down New Jersey City University, 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-18). NJCU dropped to 5-6 on the year after hitting just .121 as a team.

As a team, the Scarlet Raiders hit .234 and tallied double-digit kills in each set. Arvind Kumar paced the team with 16 kills and seven digs while  Andrew Zaleck added 11 kills on 23 attacks. Justin Tuohy continues to pass the ball with precision as he secured 46 assists in the win. Eric Hollenbach hit a red-hot .800 in the match and also added a block assist.

Jersey City was led by Jonathan Andrews' 16 kills while Julian Moreira collected a team-high five blocking assists. Leo Ferrari paced the squad with 26 assists and J.J. Berdecia had a team-high six digs.

The Gothic Knights got the better of the Scarlet Raiders in the opening set, taking a 1-0 lead after a 25-23 win. Late in the set, the Scarlet Raiders trailed 20-17 but cut the lead down to one after Nicholas Arce-Cox collected a kill which was followed up by an NJCU attacking error. A service ace would swing play back into NJCU's favor as they once again took a three-point lead. Elan Dorkhman brought the Scarlet Raiders one point closer, 24-23, however, Jonathan Andrews tallied a kill to close the opening set in their favor.

Rutgers University-Newark leveled play in the second set with a 25-19 win. A 5-0 run midway through the set put the Scarlet Raiders up 12-7. Zaleck tallied three of his 11 kills during that run which was capped by a Kumar service ace. The Gothic Knights looked to rebound nicely and cut the lead to three but the Scarlet Raiders once again found their stride to push their lead out to 18-11. More attacking errors by the Gothic Knights late in the set gave the Scarlet Raiders all they needed as they finished off NJCU to tie the match up at one. 

In the third set, the Gothic Knights held a slim margin which the Scarlet Raiders comfortably overcame. Once in the driver's seat, the Scarlet Raiders didn't relinquish the lead despite the Gothic Knights' best efforts. Kumar broke the 18-18 deadlock which ignited a 4-0 run in which he had three of the four points. From there, the Scarlet Raiders held off NJCU's comeback attempt to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Scarlet Raiders posted their largest margin of victory in the fourth and final set, 25-18. Halfway through the set, the Scarlet Raiders had doubled NJCU's total, 14-7. The men didn't take their foot off of the gas pedal as they pushed on to remain undefeated. 

Up next for the Scarlet Raiders is bout against Ramapo College at the Golden Dome on Thursday, February 27 at 7:00 pm.