CAMDEN, N.J. (Aug. 29, 2016) – The Rutgers University-Camden volleyball program earned plenty of respect during David Gurst's first season as the Scarlet Raptor head coach in 2015.
 
That respect has earned the Scarlet Raptors mention as the "dark horse" team in the pre-season New Jersey Athletic Conference Volleyball Coaches' Poll, released today. Although the Raptors were tabbed for sixth place in the voting by the NJAC's nine coaches, their dark horse designation means their meteoric rise has earned the attention from coaches around the conference.
 
During Gurst's first season, the Scarlet Raptors went 13-14 overall and 4-4 in the NJAC, a huge improvement over the previous season, when they posted marks of 5-26 overall and 1-7 in the NJAC. Rutgers-Camden qualified for the six-team NJAC playoffs after missing the post-season conference party in 2014, and the Scarlet Raptors also played in the ECAC Metro/Upstate Tournament for only the second time in program history. The first time came in 2012.
 
NJAC coaches gave perennial power Stockton University all nine first-place votes to repeat as the conference champion. The Ospreys were followed by Montclair State University, Ramapo College, Kean University, Rowan University and Rutgers-Camden, respectively, in the top six spots. William Paterson University, Rutgers University-Newark and New Jersey City University were picked seventh through ninth, respectively.
 
The Scarlet Raptors return six letterwinners, including junior Erin Thompson (Mays Landing, NJ/Oakcrest), a setter/libero/defensive specialist. Thompson earned NJAC Honorable Mention recognition as a sophomore when she collected 487 digs, the fifth-highest single-season mark in program history. She ranks eighth on the career list with 597 digs.
 
Another key veteran is senior libero/defensive specialist Melanie Kaiser (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling), a three-year letterwinner who captured NJAC Academic Honorable Mention last season. She also collected 52 aces, tied for the seventh-highest single-season mark in program history, and she ranks fourth on the career chart with 139 aces. She also is second in career digs (1,172), third in digs per set (3.89), eighth in sets (301) and tied for 12th in matches (84).
 
Two other multiple-season letterwinners are outside hitters Caitlin Marchlowitz (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee), a senior, and junior Cortnee Wilkerson (Los Angeles, CA/West Adams Prep). Marchlowitz ranks sixth on the career list with 789 digs, seventh with 316 sets and is 10th in both aces (95) and matches (89). Wilkerson ranks ninth in career kills (382) and 10th in kills per set (1.78).
 
Kaiser and Marchlowitz will serve as the team's co-captains.
 
The Scarlet Raptors graduated four key players from their 2015 team, including all-conference stars Olivia Rowland and Brooke Hassan. Gurst's 18-player roster this season includes 12 newcomers,
 
The Scarlet Raptors open their season Sept. 2-3 at the DeSales University Invitational, facing both Baruch College and host DeSales on the season-opening Friday night.
 
NJAC 2016 Pre-Season Volleyball Coaches' Poll, Release
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
1. Stockton University (9)
2. Montclair State University
3. Ramapo College
4. Kean University
5. Rowan University
6. Rutgers University-Camden (dark horse)
7. William Paterson University
8. Rutgers University-Newark
9. New Jersey City University