MADISON, N.J. — The Rutgers-Newark women's volleyball team went 2-0 Saturday at the Baldwin Gym, earning a five-set comeback victory over Drew before closing the day with a four-set win over Penn State-Abington.
The Scarlet Raiders improved to 3-1 on the season after defeating Drew, 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-17, 15-5), before taking down Penn State-Abington, 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23).
Against Drew, Rutgers-Newark battled through a back-and-forth opening match. After dropping the first set, 25-21, the Scarlet Raiders answered with a 25-23 second-set victory before Drew regained the advantage with a 25-22 third-set win. Rutgers-Newark responded emphatically, taking the fourth set, 25-17, and then dominated the decisive fifth set, 15-5 highlighted by four kills from Bella Foster.
Foster led the Scarlet Raiders offensively with 17 kills on .308 hitting while adding three blocks for 19.5 points. Cyan Long finished with 13 kills, 12 digs and four aces, while Jaedyn Simba-Malasarte recorded eight kills, 17 digs, three aces and four blocks. Nicole Sullivan directed the offense with 35 assists and added 10 digs.
The fifth set was all Rutgers-Newark. After Drew took an early 1-0 lead, the Scarlet Raiders ripped off seven straight points to take an 8-3 advantage. Simba-Malasarte sparked the run with an ace and two kills, while Foster added two kills during the decisive stretch. Rutgers-Newark continued to pull away, closing the match on a 15-5 fifth-set victory.
Rutgers-Newark carried the momentum into its second match of the day against Penn State-Abington. The Scarlet Raiders took the opening two sets, 25-21 and 25-22, before the Nittany Lions answered with a 25-22 third-set win. Rutgers-Newark responded in the fourth, overcoming an early deficit and closing out the match, 25-23.
Long paced the Scarlet Raiders with 15 kills and 19 digs, while Foster added 11 kills on .400 hitting and three blocks. Simba-Malasarte contributed six kills and a team-high 22 digs, while Sullivan posted 33 assists and 13 digs. Shania Oigbokie added seven kills while hitting .333 and recorded five blocks.
The Scarlet Raiders closed the second match with a strong fourth-set finish. After Penn State-Abington pulled even at 20-20, Rutgers-Newark answered with a 5-3 run to secure the 25-23 victory and complete the 2-0 day.
Rutgers-Newark have their home opener on Tuesday, September 15th as they host Wilkes University at the Golden Dome Arena.
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