NEWARK, NJ | The Rutgers-Newark men's volleyball team took home the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship this evening via a 3-0 sweep of Saint Vincent before going toe-to-toe with New Jersey City University in the Championship, 3-1. 

All-Tournament Team
Matthew Minkin
Brandon DaSilva
Mahmoud Serour
Sean Spring
Derek Au
Martin Chromulak
Lucas Blanco - MVP

Match 1: Rutgers-Newark 3, Saint Vincent 0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-22)

Rutgers-Newark (15-12) hit .333 as a team led by Martin Chromulak's 15 kills. Sean Spring tallied a career-high 13 kills on .259 hitting to go along with three digs. Kaden Komine tallied a career-high 37 assists and six service aces in the win. Saint Vincent (19-9) hit .281 and tallied 24 kills as a team. Matthew Minkin paced the team with 11 kills and five digs. 

With the opening set knotted at eight, the Scarlet Raiders took control with a 5-0 run capped by a Komine service ace. Saint Vincent, however, did creep back into the set, coming within three points of tying it up before three straight service aces by Martin Chromulak pushed the Scarlet Raiders further ahead. Spring would go on to close out the match with a kill and a service ace to put Rutgers-Newark ahead 1-0. 

In the second set, Rutgers-Newark quickly jumped in front, 5-0, and built upon that lead as the set wore on. An 8-1 run stretched the Scarlet Raiders' lead out to 18-10, a lead Saint Vincent was unable to come back from. 

The third set was a back-and-forth affair until Rutgers-Newark used a 4-0 run late in the set to put themselves ahead for good. 

Match 2: Rutgers-Newark 3, NJCU 1 (25-23, 25-22, 26-24, 32-30)

Rutgers-Newark (16-12) hit .133 as a team and tallied 53 kills while NJCU (22-11) hit .142 and collected 36 kills. For the Scarlet Raiders, Lucas Blanco paced the team with 18 kills and 13 digs while hitting .213 which earned him ECAC MVP. Derek Au dished out 43 assists and added three kills. 

In a close affair, the Scarlet Raiders took the opening set 25-23 after trading the lead early on. Aleks Kolodziej sparked a 7-1 run for the Scarlet Raiders which pushed them ahead 14-8. With the lead in hand, Rutgers-Newark held off the Gothic Knight rally to secure the opening set and go up 1-0 in the match. 

Rutgers-Newark used a strong opening 7-1 run to set the tone for the second set. NJCU would eventually settle down and work their way back into the set where they tied it at 20. Spring set the Scarlet Raiders on the right track with a kill as Rutgers-Newark closed the door on set two with a 4-1 run. 

NJCU rallied back in the third set to force a fourth set that would extend past the 25-point threshold. NJCU held a one-point lead late before the Scarlet Raiders tied it up at 23. The teams would trade points until Blanco secured three straight kills to hand Rutgers-Newark the ECAC Championship. 

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