WESTMINSTER, Md. — The Rutgers-Newark women's volleyball team split a pair of matches Saturday at McDaniel College, opening the day with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Susquehanna University before falling 3-0 to host McDaniel to finish the tri-match with a 2-1 record.
The Scarlet Raiders took the opening two sets against Susquehanna, 25-20 and 29-27, before the River Hawks battled back with victories of 25-20 and 25-16 to force a deciding fifth set. Rutgers-Newark found itself down 12-14 in the final frame before mounting one last rally. The Scarlet Raiders battled back to even the score before Bella Foster's kill gave them a 15-14 lead. Susquehanna answered to tie the set at 15-15, but Foster delivered once again, recording a kill followed by an ace to score the final two points and seal the 3-2 victory.
Jaedyn Simba-Malasarte led the Scarlet Raiders with 20 kills, four aces and 16 digs, while Foster added 18 kills, four blocks and three aces. Cyan Long contributed 14 kills and 16 digs, while Nicole Sullivan and Annabelle Fote combined for 50 assists with 28 and 22, respectively. Lucia Gallo anchored the defense with 23 digs as Rutgers-Newark finished the match with 61 kills, 11 aces and 76 digs.
Newark then returned to the court for its second match of the day against McDaniel, falling 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-18).
Rutgers-Newark came out strong in the opening set, recording 14 kills and hitting .294, but McDaniel held off the Scarlet Raiders, 25-21. Newark battled throughout the second set before the Green Terror again pulled away for a 25-21 victory. McDaniel closed out the match with a 25-18 third-set win.
Simba-Malasarte led Newark against McDaniel with 11 kills and 11 digs, while Long added eight kills and 10 digs. Sullivan recorded 23 assists and 10 digs.
The Scarlet Raiders finished the McDaniel match with 30 kills, five aces, 28 assists, two blocks and 45 digs.
Rutgers-Newark moves to 2-1 on the season and returns to action September 12 at Drew University for another tri-match with Drew and Penn State Abington.
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