Hours after earning its first American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Week honor in more than 10 years, the Rutgers-Newark men's volleyball team cracked the AVCA Division III Men's Coaches Poll for the first time in program history.
A new member to NCAA Division III, Rutgers-Newark breaks into the top-15 at No. 14 with 39 points. The Scarlet Raiders have won six-straight matches dating back to Thursday, March 12 – a 3-1 win at Ramapo College.
Last week, the Scarlet Raiders went 3-0, taking a five-set thriller against then No. 4 and current No. 7 Juniata College and earned a pair of 3-1 victories over CVC foes Eastern Mennonite University and Marymount University.
"It's great to be recognized after all the hard work the team has put in this season and over the past few years," Head Men's Volleyball Coach Pedro Trevino said. "We had a couple tough years making the transition from Division I, but these upperclassmen have stayed the course and have been fantastic for us."
The Scarlet Raiders were 13-38 in 2013 and 2014 combined and started this year 0-5 after an extremely challenging schedule to start the '15 season. Since that point, R-N has gone 19-3, put together an 11-1 league ledger and earned the top seed and host rites for 2015 CVC Tournament this weekend.
Stevens Institute of Technology remains atop the poll and is followed by UC Santa Cruz, SUNY New Paltz, Springfield College and Kean University.
The Scarlet Raiders can be found all over the most recent statistical rankings release from the NCAA. As a team, R-N is third nationally in blocks per set, averaging 2.58, and the Raiders crack the top 10 in hitting percentage (No. 8; .281), kills per set (No. 9; 12.33) and assists per set (No. 9; 11.50). The Scarlet Raiders are also ranked 11th in the nation in match won-loss percentage (.704).
Individually, junior middle Cody Chidsey ranks third in the nation in hitting percentage (.447), junior setter Kevin McCandless is third in assists per set (10.40) and sophomore middle Nick Kutti is third in blocks per set (1.27). Kuti also checks in at No. 12 in hitting percentage (.384).
"As nice as it is to be ranked nationally, we need to be sure to keep up the hard work and focus," added Trevino. "We need to come out Friday and take care of business to give ourselves a chance to play for a berth in the NCAA Tournament Saturday on our home court."
Newark will host fourth-seeded Thiel College in the semifinals of the CVC Tournament Friday night in The Golden Dome Arena beginning at 7:30 p.m. With a win, the Scarlet Raiders would advance to the title match on Saturday at 5 p.m. against the winner of third-seeded Marymount and second-seeded Stevenson.
The winner of the CVC title will earn an automatic berth to the 2015 NCAA Division III Championship.
All Scarlet Raider fans attending Friday's semifinal match will receive a FREE limited edition t-shirt (while supplies last) and anyone with a Rutgers-Newark ID will receive free admission to the conference tournament.