Jan. 12, 2008

Box Score

Erie, Pa. - The Mercyhurst men's volleyball team picked up a win in the opening game against Rutgers Newark Saturday, but the momentum was not enough to carry into the rest of the match as the Lakers lost in four games 26-30, 30-23, 30-20, 30-23.

Mercyhurst hit .550 in the opening game and pulled away after the two teams battled back-and-forth to a 23-23 tie. A Rutgers Newark service error, followed by a pair of attack errors, gave the Lakers a 26-23 lead. A Joe Montroy kill put Mercyhurst on top 28-25 and Dave Newman's fifth kill clinched the opening game.

Game two was tied at 12-12 but Newark's Grant Metheny served up two aces as the Scarlett Raiders scored seven of the next nine points. Mercyhurst got no closer than three points the rest of the way.

In each of the final two games, Rutgers Newark jumped on top quickly and never looked back. The Raiders built a 7-3 lead in game three and Mercyhurst was never able to get even. In game four, Rutgers Newark jumped out to a 12-4 lead and the Lakers could not cut into the deficit.

After hitting .550 in the opening game, Mercyhurst hit -.027 the rest of the way and never got the offense back in rhythm. Rutgers Newark, meanwhile, improved from .214 in game one to .370 in game two to .520 in game three. The Raiders hit .276 in game four.

Montroy, Tim Wagner, and Newman each ended with seven kills to lead Mercyhurst and David Hatten had a team-high 24 assists. Montroy added five kills and Bryan Ritter had four.

Rutgers Newark improves to 1-1 with the win and Mercyhurst falls to 0-2. The Lakers will look to get their first win when they host Nazareth Thursday at 7 p.m.