NEWARK, N.J.- The Juniata men's volleyball game swept aside Rutgers Newark to get back .500 on the season, 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 28-26). 

Quinn Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev./Shadow Ridge) had 15 kills, two aces, three digs, a solo block and two block assists. Mahlon Bender (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) had seven kills and five block assists while Matt Vasinko (Loyalhanna, Pa./Derry Area) tallied seven kills, six digs and an ace. Sean Cavanagh (Cranberry Twp.,Pa./Seneca Valley) totaled six kills, six digs, a solo block and two block assists. David Hibner (Burke, Va./Lake Braddock Secondary) had six kills and two block assists. Michael Young (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake Village) had 27 assists, four digs and two block assists.

The first set saw Juniata take a 3-1 lead and nurse it from there. They led by as many as five before the Scarlet Raiders narrowed the lead to three at 14-11. JC completely took over the set from there, going on a 11-3 run to take set one, with a block from Bender and Young nabbing set point.

The second set saw Juniata have their most accurate hitting performance of the match as they hit .426. They flew out to a 12-4 run and cruised from there to take the second set, 25-15.

The third set started in similar fashion to the last as Juniata captured the first seven points of the set. The Scarlet Raiders had other ideas and battled back to tie the score, 13-13. Rutgers Newark continued to control the run of play as their 8-3 surge made it 16-21. The Eagles battled backed, with kills from Peterson and Vasinko followed by a blocks by Matt Schaeffer (Mount Wolf, Pa./Northeastern) and Hibner made it 20-22. The Scarlet Knights called for time. The teams battled back and forth, with four ties over the next several points. Rutgers-Newark had set point at 25-26, but Juniata was not willing to play a fourth set. A Rutgers-Newark attack error, a block by Bender and Cavanagh, followed by a Peterson kill ended the match.

Juniata returns to action tomorrow at #4 Kean. Game time is 12:00.