UNION, N.J. (3/29/18)- Nico Mercadante finished with a season-high 13 kills as the Kean University men's volleyball team extended their winning streak to 22 matches with a 3-1 (18-25, 25-11, 25-13, 25-15) victory over in-state rival Rutgers-Newark on Thursday evening.

Shayron Taylor, Jared Warner and Nick Buseski each tallied nine kills apiece for the Cougars who improve to 28-2 overall and 9-1 in the Continental Volleyball Conference. Corey Pieper totaled 12 kills for the Scarlet Raiders who fall to 17-5 overall and 7-3 in the CVC.

RU dominated Kean in the opening set with a .417 hitting percentage and five kills from Pieper in the 25-18 victory for the Scarlet Raiders. The Cougars responded by sweeping the next three sets, including a .600 hitting percentage in set two and a .588 hitting percentage in set three.

Mercadante collected 11 kills over the final three sets, while Taylor tallied four of his nine kills in the second set. Ian Capp totaled 41 assists, seven aces, and four digs, while Nick Breslin finished with 11 digs as Kean snapped a four-game winning streak by RU.

With the victory, Kean went undefeated in the month of March with a perfect 13-0 record.

Head Coach Charlie Ginex and the Cougars will return to action on Mon. Apr. 2nd, hosting the Highlanders of Cairn University at 6:00 p.m.