NEWARK, N.J. – Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball battled Wilkes University in its 2026 home opener Tuesday night at The Golden Dome, but the Scarlet Raiders fell to the Colonels, 3-1.
Rutgers-Newark dropped the opening set, 26-20, before responding with one of its strongest sets of the night. The Scarlet Raiders used 18 kills and hit .341 in the second set, rallying to a 28-26 victory to even the match at 1-1. The Scarlet Raiders used a strong stretch late in the second set to pull out the dramatic 28-26 win. With Wilkes holding a 24-20 lead, Rutgers-Newark scored five straight points to take a 25-24 advantage, with Fote finishing the run with a kill. After Wilkes tied the set at 25-25, Foster recorded a kill to even the score again, before Cyan Long followed with a kill and Fote closed out the set with another kill for the 28-26 victory.
Wilkes regained control in the third set, taking a 25-18 decision, before closing out the match with a 25-18 fourth-set victory. The Scarlet Raiders finished the night with 43 kills, 42 assists, 51 digs and 10 service aces.
Cyan Long led the Scarlet Raiders with 13 kills while adding 10 digs and a service ace. Bella Foster followed with 10 kills, a .296 hitting percentage and two total blocks. Shania Oigbokie added seven kills while hitting .375.
Annabelle Fote directed the Rutgers-Newark offense with 32 assists while also contributing three kills and six digs. Lucia Gallo anchored the defensive effort with a team-high 18 digs and added three service aces.
Rutgers-Newark falls to 4-2 on the season, while Wilkes improves to 7-2. The Scarlet Raiders will return to action on Thursday, September 17th when they travel to face off with York (NY).
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