UNION, N.J. - The Rutgers University-Camden women's volleyball team battled host Kean University through a pair of tight opening sets before the Cougars (6-6, 2-0) pulled away for a 3-0 New Jersey Athletic Conference victory Thursday night at Harwood Arena.
Kean won by scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-18.
Gabby Gbolahan led the Scarlet Raptors (8-7, 1-2) with six kills and a .429 hitting percentage while adding two block assists. Sofia Granieri also collected six kills, while Asha Pensa Johnson finished with five kills and two block assists. Piper Anderson had four kills on six attacks for a .667 hitting percentage, and Haven Ford recorded three kills on four swings, hitting .500.
Cassie Guim paced the Scarlet Raptors with 12 assists and added two digs, while JoAnna Andrews contributed 11 assists and five digs. Mia Owens collected a team-high eight digs while adding two service aces. Rutgers-Camden finished with six aces as a team.
The Scarlet Raptors (8-7, 1-2) came out quickly in the opening set. Behind the serving of Owens and kills from Granieri and Pensa Johnson, Rutgers-Camden built an 8-1 advantage. Kean worked its way back, however, tying the set at 13-13. Rutgers-Camden regained the lead at 19-17 on kills by Gbolahan and Jana Jovanovic, but the Cougars answered with an 8-1 closing run to take the opener, 25-20.
Rutgers-Camden again grabbed the early advantage in the second set, scoring the first three points and later taking a 7-3 lead after a Gbolahan service ace. The Scarlet Raptors remained in front for much of the set and held leads of 16-14 and 17-16 behind three kills from Anderson during that stretch. Kean eventually moved ahead, 21-19, before closing out a 25-21 victory.
The Cougars opened an early lead in the third set, but Rutgers-Camden continued to battle. The Scarlet Raptors used a late 5-1 run, highlighted by kills from Pensa Johnson, Haven Ford and Anderson along with an Owens service ace, to pull within 23-18 before Kean scored the final two points to finish the match.
Rutgers-Camden heads to Alvernia on Saturday for a tri-match with the Golden Wolves and Delaware Valley.
