Conference News

Rutgers-Newark Shocks No. 6 Penn State, 3-1

Rutgers-Newark Shocks No. 6 Penn State, 3-1

NEWARK, NJ – Sophomore outside hitter Marcin Midura notched 22 kills and 10 digs as Rutgers-Newark shocked No. 6 Penn State, 3-1, in The Golden Dome.

The Scarlet Raiders (9-10), winners of eight of their last nine matches, downed the Nittany Lions (17-5) for the first time since March 26, 2004.  Set scores were 30-28, 30-28, 24-30, 30-28 in front of a raucous crowd of 300.

Junior setter Jeff Zornig fueled the Raider attack with 52 assists while chipping in five kills, two aces, five assisted blocks and six digs.  Junior outside hitters Austin Pappas and Eduardo Hernandez each had a dozen kills and two aces.  Hernandez posted a team-high 13 digs while freshman libero Tomas Goldsmith had nine digs.

Senior middle hitter Jon Keller, who added seven kills on 15 swings, helped Rutgers-Newark rule the net, getting in on five the Raiders’ 12 blocks while adding an ace.

Junior opposite Will Price paced Penn State with 18 kills and two aces while freshman outside hitter Joe Sunder tallied 14 kills and an ace.  Senior middle hitter Max Lipsitz posted a dozen kills.

A service error and an attack error by the Nittany Lions broke a 25-all deadlock in the first set.  The teams traded points until Midura sixth kill of the frame gave Rutgers-Newark the early advantage.

Midura had three of his six second-set kills during a closing 8-2 Raider run as Rutgers-Newark overcame eight kills by Sunder.

Penn State battled back in the third set, reeling off the final six points of the frame behind three kills by Sunder.

But in a match that featured 54 ties and 18 lead changes, it was the Raiders who got the crucial points in the fourth set despite eight kills by Price.  Tied at 26-26, Rutgers-Newark got a kill by Midura followed by an ace by Zornig to seize the lead for good.  Penn State’s Nick Turko and Price sandwiched kills around another putaway by Midura before Hernandez hammered down the match finisher.