CAMDEN, N.J. – The Rutgers-Camden women's volleyball team got off to a strong start in the New Jersey Athletic Conference on Tuesday night, defeating Rutgers-Newark 3-1 in the conference opener for both teams.
Set scores were 23-25, 25-17, 25-14, and 25-21 in favor of the Scarlet Raptors (8-4, 1-0 NJAC).
A balanced attack led the way for Rutgers-Camden, with Nissi Wadieh and Asha Pensa Johnson each getting eight kills, followed by Ella Carmen Truitt and Sofia Granieri each with seven.
JoAnna Andrews had 16 assists, with Cassie Guim getting 14.
The Scarlet Raptors got 10 aces on the evening, with Truitt netting four of them.
Wadieh had three solo blocks and two block assists, with Jana Jovanovic getting two solo blocks and one assist. Pensa Johnson had three block assists, and Gabby Gbolahan added two.
Defensively, Mia Owens had a match-high 30 digs, while Truitt and Guim each had 12.
For Rutgers-Newark (6-4, 0-1 NJAC), Bella Foster had 15 kills, while Nicole Sullivan had 30 assists.
In the first set, Rutgers-Newark took a five-point lead at 17-12 as Foster had two kills during that run. Rutgers-Camden battled back to within one at 19-18 and 23-22, but Foster's kill at 24-23 gave the Scarlet Raptors the first set.
In the second set, Rutgers-Newark took an early 8-4 lead before Rutgers-Camden tied the score at 9-all on an attack error. From there, the Scarlet Raiders went back up three, but the Scarlet Raptors tied it again at 12-all.
Trailing 17-16, Rutgers-Camden would score the final nine points of the set, paced by kills from Pensa Johnson and Andrews. A service ace from Carmen Truitt capped the second set at 25-17.
In the third, Camden went up 6-1 and never looked back, widening the lead to 21-9 before winning 25-14.
In the fourth and final set, Camden led 15-11 before Newark took a 17-16 lead on an attack error. Trailing 19-18, Camden put the match away by scoring the next five points. A kill by Andrews gave the Scarlet Raptors a 23-19 lead.
Camden steps out of conference on Thursday, hosting Ursinus in its Military Appreciation Game before taking on Trinity Washington on Saturday at 11 a.m. for Homecoming.
