The Virginia Wesleyan men's volleyball team fell to Kean in straight sets and lost to Rutgers-Newark in five to conclude the Southern Virginia Tournament.
Game 1:
JaMarhe Wills led VWU with 8.5 points as he recorded eight kills, one block assist, and nine digs.
Christian Harris tallied 7.5 points, registering seven kills, one assist, one block assist, and four digs.
Kean took an early 4-1 lead over VWU in the first set. The Marlins responded with two points in a row to come within a point of Kean at 4-3, but the Cougars surged ahead winning five of the next six points to lead 9-4. The Marlins outscored Kean 6-5 to find themselves three points away at 13-10 and kept applying pressure through the 20-17 mark; but Kean closed out the set winning six of the remaining seven points to claim the first set by a score of 25-18.
The Marlins started the second set by winning the first point, but Kean responded with three points in a row. VWU stayed within two points of Kean for the first 14 points of play. Kean won three straight points to gain a 14-9 lead midway through the second set, and VWU responded by winning four of the next five points to bring the score to 15-13 for the Cougars. The Marlins continued to apply pressure and came within one point of Kean at 19-18, but Kean went on to make four consecutive points to take a 23-18 lead. The Marlins went on a 6-1 run to tie the set at 24-24, but Kean regained control and won the set 26-24 to lead 2-0 overall.
The third set began with a 5-1 run for VWU, but the Cougars found their way back into the game and leveled the score at 10-10. The Marlins created momentum again by winning five of the next six points to reclaim the lead 15-11. Kean responded with a 9-5 run to tie the set at 20-20. The Marlins won the next three points to find themselves just two points away from winning the set, but Kean was clutch and won five straight points to win the set 25-23 and win the game 3-0.
Game 2:
JaMarhe Wills led the Marlins once again, this time with 15 points as he recorded 13 kills, four block assists, and seven digs.
Christian Harris scored 12.5 points with 12 kills, two assists, one block assist, and 10 digs.
Rutgers Newark started the first with a 5-1 lead, but the Marlins responded with a 4-2 run to minimize their lead to 7-5. The Scarlet Raiders responded with four consecutive points to lead 11-5, but VWU managed to create their own 4-0 run, bridging the gap to 11-9. Rutgers-Newark regained control and won the set 25-15 to go up 1-0.
The Scarlet Raiders sprung ahead 6-3, but the Marlins fought back to reverse the momentum and tie the game at 9-9. The score was tied four more times until the Marlins took off on a 6-1 run to lead 20-14. The Marlins maintained their edge without giving Rutgers-Newark more than two points in a row and won the second set 25-21 to level the game at 1-1.
The start of the third set remained very close as the lead was exchanged four times until the 6-6 mark. The Marlins then went on a 3-0 run to take a 9-6 lead, but Rutgers battled back to lead 11-10. The set remained extremely close and was tied again at 15-15. Then, the Marlins dominated with a 5-1 run to lead 20-16; but the Scarlet Raiders regained control, winning nine of the next 10 points to seal the third set 25-21 and go up 2-1 overall.
The Marlins led the Scarlet Raiders 5-2 to begin the fourth set, but Rutgers-Newark fought back to tie the score at 6-6. The Marlins went on a 6-3 run to lead 12-9 and maintained a minor lead for the remainder of the set. After three set points, VWU finally closed out the fourth set 25-21 to level the match at 2-2.
The fifth set was extremely competitive, and the score was tied nine times through the 9-9 mark. The Marlins led the Scarlet Raiders 11-10, just four points away from victory; but Rutgers-Newark went 5-1 to close out the set 15-12 and to win the match 3-2.
Next, the Marlins will face Randolph College in an away contest on Wednesday, March 26, at 6 p.m.
