MADISON, N.J. – The Drew University men's volleyball team opened its second season of play in the Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) versus a tough Rutgers-Newark squad and came up on the short end of a 3-0 decision Thursday evening in Baldwin Gym.
 
The Scarlet Raiders (12-3, 1-0 CVC), fresh off a 3-2 win over No. 2-ranked Stevens two nights earlier, won by scores of 25-11, 25-22, and 25-19.
 
The Rangers (8-8, 0-1 CVC) received 10 kills and three blocks from sophomore Gio Martin and nine kills and three blocks from sophomore Michael Shipman, who hit .500 for the night. Sophomore Quinn Donahue handed out 31 assists, and classmate Eric Forget scooped six digs.
 
Rutgers-Newark never trailed in the opening set, scoring the first five points before gradually pulling away.
 
The second set went back and forth early on, and the Rangers used a 4-0 spurt that included kills from Martin and senior Jason Barbosa to assume a 7-5 lead. However, the Scarlet Raiders answered with a 7-1 run to go up 12-8, and they would not trail over the rest of the set. Drew closed to within two on five occasions, with the last three coming on kills from Shipman (22-20), Martin (23-21), and Barbosa (24-22). But the set came to a close on a Drew service error.
 
Much like the second set, it was a tightly-contested match in the early portion of the third stanza, which featured five ties and two lead changes. The Rangers enjoyed their largest lead of the night at 9-5 following a 5-1 surge, but the Raiders went ahead for good with an 8-1 run that made it 13-10. Drew kept it close, however, and trailed just 19-16 following Martin's second straight kill, but the visitors closed the match on a 6-3 burst.
 
The Rangers continue their season on Saturday with a tri-match at Widener University. Drew takes on Nazareth University at 1 p.m. before taking on Widener at 3 p.m.