Lebanon Valley def. Rutgers-Newark 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-14)
 
LVC Starters
Reed (L), Koons, Sides, Shelly, Attieh, Class, Burnheimer
 
R-N Starters
Gregoire, Farkas, Capobianco (L), Moore, Luken, Starling, Akinbo
 
How It Happened
Lebanon Valley advanced to the 2018 ECAC DIII Volleyball Championship Tournament's Quarterfinal round after blanking Rutgers-Newark 3-0 on Wednesday evening inside Sorrentino Gymnasium. The Dutchmen kept their season alive and improved to 18-12, while the Scarlet Raiders ended their season with a 16-12 overall mark.
 
The opening set was tight early with LVC leading 6-5. Reina Eckman notched a kill in the next point, followed by two Scarlet Raiders' attack errors to extend the Dutchmen's lead to 9-5. After Rutgers-Newark got a point back and made it 9-6, LVC struck for three consecutive points again, including a kill from Eckman, Amanda Sides, and Jayna Class, to take a 12-6 advantage. Later, the Scarlet Raiders came to within six at 21-15, but the Dutchmen ended the opening set on a 4-0 run, capped by Jess Attieh' kill, to win the first set 25-15.
 
Rutgers-Newark jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the middle set, but LVC responded in a big way, scoring the next 10 points to take a commanding 10-2 lead. The Scarlet Raiders didn't go away however, and eventually chipped back and came to within four of LVC at 16-12. The Dutchmen didn't let the visitors get any closer, and again ended the set by scoring the final four points to go into the third set up two sets to none.
 
A key early run guided LVC to the third-set victory and win in the match. Rutgers-Newark registered the set's first point, however the Dutchmen went on to score 12 in-a-row to go up 12-1. In that significant spurt, Attieh recorded four kills, while Reily Shelly added a pair. The Scarlet Raiders came to within 10 later at 21-11, but the Dutchmen were able to score four more points and not let Rutgers-Newark get any closer en route to the 25-14 third-set win to take the match 3-0.
 
Inside the Numbers
 - The 2018 MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year, Attieh, led the way offensively with a match-high 17 kills and a .630 hitting percentage. The senior added four digs, a solo block, one block assist, and a service ace.
 - The MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the year, Shelly, added nine digs and a .500 hitting percentage.
 - Class and Eckman chipped in four kills apiece, while Class served up a pair of service aces.
 - Jensen Burnheimer led the way with 25 assists and she added three digs and two kills.
 - Kaitlyn Reed dug out a team-high eight balls, while Amanda Sides had five.
 - Rutgers-Newark's Cassie Luken ended with a team-high eight kills.
 - As a team, the Dutchmen finished with a .337 hitting percentage, including a .414 clip in the third set.
 
Movin' On to the Quarters
Thanks to tonight's win, LVC will battle Westminster College (Pa.) at Cabrini University on Saturday at 5 p.m. The semifinals and championship match are set for Sunday, Nov. 11, also at Cabrini University.
 
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