FAIRFAX, VA – The Rutgers volleyball team (9-3) defeated Towson (27-30, 30-28, 30-25, 23-30, 15-9) and George Mason (30-26, 30-27, 30-28) to win the Patriot Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 25. This marked the second consecutive tournament win for the Scarlet Knights this season.

In the morning match against Towson, RU was led by seniors Stephanie Travioli (Arlington, TX) and Dawn Christjaener (Huntington Beach, CA). Travioli and Christjaener tallied 18 kills apiece, followed by junior Ashleigh Young (Albany, OR) who added 13 kills.

Defensively, the Scarlet Knights were solid with Travioli recording a team-high 16 digs for her first double-double on the season, while senior Abbey Martin (Topeka, KS) registered 14 digs to go along with her match-high 55 assists. Junior Courtney Stout (San Marcos, CA) added 10 digs of her own.

In the Scarlet Knights final match of the day against George Mason, Travioli and Christjaener again led the team with nine kills apiece. Senior Addie Thiry (Louisville, KY) and sophomore Lora Yankauskas (Paramus, NJ) each recorded eight kills to round out RU’s offensive attack. Martin once again led Rutgers with a match-high 37 assists.

On the defensive side, Christjaener led all players with 18 digs, followed by Stout with 15 digs and Yankauskas with 10.

For her efforts, Travioli was named Patriot Invitational Tournament MVP, while Martin was added to the All-Tournament Team.

The Scarlet Knights will take on the Temple Owls on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 7:00 p.m. before returning home to host the BIG EAST Challenge on Oct. 1-2.