CENTER VALLEY, Pa. (Sept. 3, 2022) – The Rutgers University-Camden volleyball team earned its first win of the season here Saturday as it split a pair of matches on the final day of the DeSales University Tournament.
 
The Scarlet Raptors (1-2) won their second match of the day by outlasting Vassar College in four sets, 25-22, 22-25, 25-18 and 25-15. In their opening match, the Scarlet Raptors lost, 3-0, in three close sets, 25-23, 25-21 and 28-26.
 
The Scarlet Raptors return to action Thursday when they host Ursinus College in a 7 p.m. match, which will be played at the Palestra in Philadelphia.
   
Rutgers-Camden won the opening set, 25-22, after rallying from a 22-21 deficit. The Raptors scored the final four points on a pair of attack errors and kills by freshman Bella Craig and senior Brinn Hassan.
 
After the Brewers took the second set by the same 25-22 score, the Scarlet Raptors posted a 25-18 win in the third set and wrapped up their first match victory with a 25-15 win in the fourth set. Leading, 17-15, Rutgers-Camden scored the final eight points of the match, aided by a pair of aces from junior Isabella Choice and kills from junior Erica Nebrich and sophomore Kaitlyn Parrish. A trio of attack errors and a bad set by Vassar accounted for the other points in the run.
 
Nebrich paced the Scarlet Raptors with 13 kills, while adding eight digs. Choice had nine kills, two service aces and six digs.
 
Hassan collected 19 assists and six digs, while freshman Ciera McCrae notched the first 16 assists and five digs of her collegiate career.
 
Senior Morgan Fox led the Raptors with 15 digs and Craig added 10 digs. Both Craig and junior Dyamond Free collected three service aces, while Choice added two.
 
The Brewers received 27 assists from freshman Melia Voss.
   
In the first match of the day, the host Bulldogs outlasted the Scarlet Raptors in three tight sets, winning 25-23, 25-21 and 28-26.
 
Rutgers-Camden rallied from a 17-11 deficit in the opening set before falling by two points. The Scarlet Raptors held a 20-19 lead in the second set before DeSales scored six of the final seven points. The third set came down to the wire with the teams tied at 18-18, 19-19, 22-22, 23-23, 24-24, 25-25 and 26-26 before the Bulldogs broke the tie for good on a kill by senior Diane Pugay. They wrapped up their win with a blocked attack attempt.
 
Choice paced the Scarlet Raptors with 11 kills and a .333 hitting percentage, while Hassan collected 24 assists and nine digs. Senior Morgan Fox had 15 digs and four service aces, and Craig added 12 digs. Senior Haley Novak notched eight digs.
 
For DeSales (2-0), freshman Abby Weise collected 11 digs and nine kills, sophomore Mykenah Calde collected 11 digs and junior Grace Grandinetti had 19 assists and nine digs.