NEWARK, NJ | The #7 ranked Rutgers University-Newark men's volleyball squad took on New Jersey City University tonight at The Golden Dome in non-conference action. The Scarlet Raiders knocked off the Gothic Knights 3-0 (38-36, 25-21, 25-18) in straight sets to pick up their 3rd straight win of the season. 

Rutgers-Newark (4-1) Andrew Zaleck led the Scarlet Raiders with 21 kills, just one kill shy of entering the NCAA record books for kills in a three-set match. Arvind Kumar complimented Zaleck with 13 kills and a team-high seven digs. Derek Au and Martin Chromulak shined against their old team collecting 41 assists and six kills, respectively.

NJCU (2-4) was led by Jonathan Andrews' 9 kills while Aaron Mantilla added 26 assists.

Playing against two of their former teammates, the Gothic Knights came out strong against the Scarlet Raiders and took a 7-4 lead in the first set which caused Rutgers-Newark to call a timeout to regroup. Quay starred for the Scarlet Raiders early in the first set as through their first eight points, he tallied three of them. Rutgers-Newark fought their way into the lead late in the set and a Zaleck and Chromulak block put the Scarlet Raiders in front by two forcing NJCU to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Gothic Knights gained momentum to clear their two-point deficit and took a two-point lead, 21-19. The Scarlet Raiders knotted it up and pushed the set past the 25-point limit as each team committed a string of service errors that prolonged the opening set of the match. The Scarlet Raiders and Gothic Knights put on a spectacle of a first set with 27 ties and eight lead changes, however, it was Zaleck who handed Rutgers-Newark a 1-0 lead in the match after hammering home the final two points. 

The second set continued the trend of the first set with both squads trading points as neither was able to go on a run and pull ahead. NJCU held a slight lead throughout the set keeping the Scarlet Raiders at arm's length. The Gothic Knights took a slight three-point lead, 20-17, at the end of the second set to force Rutgers-Newark to call a timeout to try to ice their opponents. The timeout worked in favor of the Scarlet Raiders as they erased their deficit right out of the break to knot the set up at 20 thanks to a pair of kills by Kumar. Kumar put the team on his back and added another pair of kills to put Rutgers-Newark in the driver's seat where they took a 2-0 lead in the match. 

Zaleck bumped the Scarlet Raiders out to an 8-3 lead in the third set with three straight service aces, putting the Gothic Knights on their heels. He then got his howitzer of an arm spinning and NJCU had no response for his speed despite calling both of their timeouts early in the set. The Scarlet Raiders took a 17-12 lead, however, the Gothic Knights began to gain momentum which prompted head coach Jack Wilson to call a timeout to settle his team down. Rutgers-Newark came out stronger and finished off the Gothic Knights to win their third-straight match. 

Up Next:
The Scarlet Raiders will travel to Rochester, NY to take on Baldwin Wallace and Nazareth College in a tri-match on Saturday, February 12.