ALFRED, N.Y. (Nov. 13, 2021) – The Rutgers University-Camden volleyball team reached the final of the ECAC Division III Championship for the first time in its program history this season, but the Scarlet Raptors ran into a familiar roadblock here Saturday in the title match.
 
Kean University, a fellow member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference, swept the Scarlet Raptors in three straight sets, 25-20, 25-23 and 25-14, to claim the ECAC title in a match held at Alfred State.
 
Kean, the top seed in the ECAC Championships, closes its season at 18-12, while third-seeded Rutgers-Camden ends at 21-10. The loss marked the third time this season the Raptors have fallen to the Cougars, including a 3-1 home match on Oct. 19 and a 3-0 decision at Kean Nov. 2 in a NJAC quarterfinal match.
 
The Cougars have defeated Rutgers-Camden in 13 straight matches, with the last Raptor win coming by a 3-2 margin on Oct. 9, 2012 at Kean.
 
Kean won the opening set, 25-20, behind four kills apiece from Taylor Micheaux and Anne Beckemeyer, while Kylie Brua added 14 assists. Rutgers-Camden received three kills apiece from sophomores Erica Nebrich and Isabella Choice, with seniors Brinn Hassan and Morgan Fox adding six assists and four digs, respectively.
 
The Scarlet Raptors scored three straight points, including a kill and a service ace by Nebrich and a kill by senior Devyn Cobb, to take a 15-12 lead midway through the second set. Kean, however, rattled off six straight points to regain the lead at 18-15. Once again, the Scarlet Raptors battled back to surge into a 20-19 advantage. With the score tied at 23-23, Kean received a kill by Morgan Hall and a kill by Micheaux to post its narrow win.
 
The Cougars jumped to a 12-4 lead in the third set on their way to the title.
 
Nebrich and Choice finished with eight kills apiece for the Scarlet Raptors, hitting .368 and .278, respectively. Sophomore Kaliyah Moss added seven kills while hitting .316. Hassan notched 25 assists, while Nebrich led the Raptors with two service aces. Moss had three blocks (one solo and two assisted) and Choice added two (one solo, one assisted).
 
Fox led the team with eight digs, with senior Haley Novak, sophomore Dyamond Free and senior Savannah Hayes adding five apiece. Moss, Hassan and senior Delaney Kolb each added four digs.
 
Choice and Fox represented the Scarlet Raptors on the All-ECAC Tournament Team.
 
Hassan ended the year with a single-season program record of 861 assists, on her way to the second-highest career total (1,917) in program history. Moss had 291 kills in her rookie season, the fourth-highest season total in program history.