Conference News
Balanced Raiders Sweep Past NYU, 3-0
Balanced Raiders Sweep Past NYU
Rutgers-Newark 3, NYU 0
NEWARK, NJ - Senior right side Kenny
Rienecker (Glendale, NY/Academy of American Studies) paced
a balance Rutgers-Newark attack with 17 kills as the Scarlet
Raiders swept New York University, 30-25, 30-28, 30-23, in The
Golden Dome to seize early control of the EIVA Hay race.
The win leaves the Scarlet Raiders (4-5, EIVA Hay 3-0) as the only
team in the five-team division without a league loss. The
Violets (3-10, EIVA Hay 2-1) dropped into sole possession of second
place.
Junior outside hitter Nate Stott (Clovis,
CA/Clovis) added 14 kills, four digs and a pair of assisted blocks
for 15 points while senior outside hitter Derek
Wolfe (Orlando, FL/Timbercreek) hit .429 with 11 kills, an
ace and four digs.
Junior middle hitter Jon Keller (Reading,
PA/Exeter Township) boosted the Raider attack numbers by pounding
down eight kills in just 10 swings without and error as sophomore
setter Liran Shapiro (Tel Aviv, Israel/Hoff HaSharon) posted 45
assists and nine digs to help Rutgers-Newark hit .333
(55-18-111).
Senior outside hitter Devin Zolnowski
(Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) paced the Violets with 14
kills, seven assisted blocks and an ace while junior outside hitter
Michael Ferragnio (Irwin, PA/Norwin) tallied 11
kills and five digs. Senior setter Ilan Goldstein (Pacific
Palisades, CA/Brentwood) tied for the match high with nine digs and
was credited with 37 assists.
NYU middle blockers Luke Hamlet (Long Beach,
CA/Long Beach) and Fran Hodgson (Surf City,
NJ/Southern Regional), who each had seven kills apiece, helped the
Violets forge a 9.0-4.5 edge in blocking by combining for eight
blocking assists.
The Raiders dominated the opening frame, hitting .467 (18-4-30)
with Rienecker, Stott and Wolfe posting five kills apiece.
Zolnowski kept the Violets within striking distance with six kills,
an ace and three assisted blocks.
In set two, Rienecker and Stott had five kills apiece as the
Raiders held off NYU which was paced by Zolnowski with five kills
and three assisted blocks. After a Wolfe kill gave the
Rutgers-Newark a 27-24 lead, NYU used a service error, a block by
Hamlet and Zolnowski, and a Raider attack error to pull to even at
27-27. A Rienecker kill and an attack error by NYU brought
the Raiders to set point before an R-N service error set the stage
for the frame ending kill by Rienecker.
In the third set, back-to-back kills by Wolfe and Rienecker put
Rutgers-Newark up for good at 12-10, but NYU stayed on the Raiders'
heels until 18-17. Wolfe and Rienecker started a 3-0 spurt
with back-to-back kills to provide a little breathing room.
Rienecker finished with seven kills in the set, committing no
errors on 11 swings while Hamlet led the Violets with four kills.








