NEWARK, NJ | The Rutgers-Newark men's volleyball team swept #17 Messiah University Saturday afternoon, 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-21).

Rutgers-Newark (10-8) picked up its second straight win behind a .329 hitting performance by the team. Martin Chromulak paced the team with 12 kills and a .524 hit percentage while Lucas Blanco added 12 kills. Derek Au tallied 34 assists and Juan Silva secured a team-high four blocks. Messiah (13-7) hit .317 as a squad and was led by Zac Barbato's eight kills. 

Messiah jumped ahead in the opening set, 10-6, before the Scarlet Raiders climbed back with a 6-1 run with kills from Chromulak and Kolodziej. The Falcons cut the lead down to two, however, Chromulak ignited a 5-1 run that ended with a pair of aces to give his team the 1-0 lead in the match. 

Rutgers-Newark came out strong in the second set and took a 6-1 lead. Fernando Paredes picked up a kill halfway through the set to bump his team's lead up to 14-8. The Falcons began to gain some momentum and cut the lead down to three with a 5-2 run. Once again, Chromulak came up big for his team to help fend off the Falcons. 

The Scarlet Raiders bounced back from a slow start in the third set and propelled themselves into the lead with solid offensive play. Messiah strung two points together late to bring the score to 23-20 but kills by Kolodziej and Blanco handed the Scarlet Raiders the sweep.

Rutgers-Newark returns to action on Saturday, March 16 for a tri-match against Elizabethtown College and Penn State Schuylkill. 

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