The Scarlet Raiders traveled to the Canavan Arena this afternoon and put their unblemished record on the line for a non-conference tri-match. Rutgers University-Newark took on Eastern University and No. 3 Stevens Institute and emerged unscathed after sweeping both opponents, 3-0. The Scarlet Raiders improved to 6-0 while Eastern fell to 3-4 and Stevens suffered their first loss of the season to drop to 8-1.
Match 1: Rutgers University-Newark 3, Eastern University 0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-18)
Elan Dorkhman and David Mrowko each tallied a team-high seven kills. Justin Tuohy once again led the team with 14 assists and Antonio Rocchio was close behind with 13. Kyle Loesner and Matt Nikishin patrolled the backline and picked up seven digs apiece.
The first set would go back and forth until the Scarlet Raiders went on a 5-0 run which extended their lead to 14-6. Arvind Kumar and Andrew Zaleck each earned a kill during the run while Tuohy picked up a service ace. The tempo of the game switched into the Scarlet Raiders' favor after that run which allowed them to go on an 8-1 run which handed them the opening set.
Eastern was more balanced in the set second which allowed them to take a 12-11 lead halfway through the set. Once again, the Scarlet Raiders went on a small run to take the lead. Attacking errors by Eastern handed their lead over to the Scarlet Raiders, a lead they wouldn't surrender. Robert Long and Dorkhman played a part down the stretch to give Rutgers-Newark a 2-0 lead in the match.
Once again, Eastern kept it close in the early goings of the set, however, back-to-back kills by Mrowko gave the Scarlet Raiders an 18-13 lead. From there, Rutgers University-Newark kept their foot on the gas and finished the match to earn their third sweep of the season.
Match 2: Rutgers University-Newark 3, No. 3 Stevens Institute 0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-21)
For the second time this season, the Scarlet Raiders stepped on the court against a nationally-ranked opponent and picked up the win.
Freshman sensation Andrew Zaleck earned a team-high 18 kills and was followed up by Arvind Kumar's 10. Fellow freshman standout, Justin Tuohy, secured 38 assists in the win. Nicholas Arce-Cox led the team with a trio of blocks while Tuohy and Zaleck added a pair. Jake Connors paced the team with seven digs.
The Scarlet Raiders came out on fire against the Ducks and jumped out to an 11-4 lead which caused the Ducks to call a timeout. A pair of kills by Kumar and Zaleck pushed the Scarlet Raiders out in front and were also aided by errors by the Ducks.
Out of the timeout, the Stevens Institute looked inspired and cut the lead down to 14-10. Attacking errors by Stevens kept Rutgers-Newark out in front and a pair of kills by Zaleck late in the opening set pushed their lead out to 21-19. Daniel Quay kept his team in front by three with a kill before Zaleck and Long completed the set to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
With the second set deadlocked at seven Kumar and Zaleck pounded the ball onto the court to put their team ahead by a pair. Down one, 13-12, Long found his stride and picked up three straight kills which put Rutgers-Newark up 15-13. An attacking error brought the set within one, however, Quay was able to prevent Stevens from gaining momentum as he found an opening in the Ducks' defense and took advantage to secure a kill. Stevens tried to salvage the second set but a pair of errors gave the Scarlet Raiders a 2-0 lead.
Both teams proved to be evenly matched all set as each team struggled to pull away from the other. The Scarlet Raiders were able to string together a few points to keep them just ahead of the Ducks. In the end that small lead was able to keep the Scarlet Raiders undefeated on the year as they went on to win 3-0.
The men return to action on Friday, February 14 when they open up CVC play in Ashland, VA against Randolph-Macon.