The Lancaster Bible College men's volleyball team defeated its third straight ranked opponent on Thursday night at Horst Athletic Center, as the Chargers knocked off previously unbeaten and fifth-ranked Rutgers-Newark, 3-1. Twelfth-ranked Lancaster Bible has now won seven straight matches and is 17-3 overall this season, while the Scarlet Raiders fell to 16-1. The Chargers won Thursday's match, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-23.
 
How it Happened: Rutgers-Newark raced out to a 10-7 lead early in the first set, and then extended the advantage to 14-9 after winning four of five points. The Scarlet Raiders would eventually lead 21-13, and though the Chargers made a late run and cut the deficit to 21-17, Rutgers-Newark closed the set by winning four of six points, and took a 1-0 lead by winning the first set, 25-19.
 
The visitors took the first three points of the second set as well, but the Chargers won eight of the next 11 points, and took an 8-6 lead on a kill from Nate Miller. The Chargers kept going, and led 12-8 after a kill from Zeke Hallman, and then 14-10 after a smash from Benjamin Herb. The Scarlet Raiders battled back and cut the deficit to 15-14, and then tied the set at 19-19 a few points later. After exchanging points, Miller drilled home a kill, and Hallman followed with a huge block, and the Chargers led, 23-21. Lancaster Bible closed out the set, 25-22 on an error by Rutgers-Newark, and tied the match at 1-1.
 
It was the Chargers who took an early lead in the third set, as two straight kills from Kyran Flahive gave Lancaster Bible an 8-4 lead. The lead shrank to one at 9-8, but the Chargers won the next four points, the final one coming on a kill from Hallman, and Lancaster Bible led 13-8. Rutgers-Newark again came back, and tied the set at 18-18 on a block from Daniel Quay. With the set tied at 19-19, Lancaster Bible won three straight points, as Miller and Hallman had kills sandwiched around a Scarlet Raider error. The Chargers closed the set out on a big block assist from Herb and Jacob Faust, and took the frame, 25-20.
 
The Scarlet Raiders took an early 11-8 lead in the fourth set, but the Chargers rattled off six straight points for a 14-11 lead, as Hallman and Miller combined for a block to cap the run. Pesky Rutgers-Newark came back again in the fourth set, and trailed just 19-17 after a kill from Andrew Zaleck. Faust responded with a kill for the Chargers, and Lancaster Bible led 21-17 after an error from Rutgers-Newark. Lancaster Bible eventually led, 24-21, but the Scarlet Raiders won the next two points to trail just 24-23. Miller took a pass from Reuben Kemrer on the Scarlet Raider serve, and closed the match with his 25^th kill, and the Chargers dealt Rutgers-Newark their first loss of the year.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible had 52 kills and 28 errors on 117 attempts for a .205 hitting percentage, while Rutgers-Newark had 45 kills and 28 errors on 109 attempts for a .156 hitting percentage…The Scarlet Raiders led in digs, 32-28, while the Chargers held a 12-11 lead in blocks…Miller led the Chargers with 25 kills, and he also added two blocks and five digs…Horst added nine kills and five blocks, while Jake Faust had two kills and six blocks…Zeke Hallman had eight kills and four blocks, and Benjamin Herb had six kills, and added two blocks as well…Reuben Kemrer had 45 assists and five digs as well for the Chargers…Andrew Zaleck led Rutgers-Newark with 13 kills.
 
News & Notes: This was the first-ever meeting between the two teams…Lancaster Bible is now 4-1 at home this season…Thursday night marked the third straight ranked opponent the Chargers have played, and Lancaster Bible is 3-0 in those games…The first set loss on Thursday was just the second time all season the Chargers have dropped the opening set of a match…Lancaster Bible is 54-14 in all sets this season…Thursday marked the fifth time the Chargers have had 50 or more kills in a match this season…The 28 errors for Lancaster Bible were a season-high…The Chargers had double-digit blocks for the fourth time in 2020…Miller's 25 kills were the most he's had in a match since last season's NEAC Final when he had 30.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible is off for a week, but will play its biggest North Eastern Athletic Conference match of the season so far next Friday, as the Chargers host 10^th ranked Wells at Horst Athletic Center…The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.