MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Sophomore Kyra Thompson (Tucson, Ariz.) posted double figures in kills for the second time in the last three matches, but the Rutgers University volleyball team fell to Marquette, 3-0 at the Al McGuire Center on Sunday afternoon.
After winning their home-opener last Friday, the Scarlet Knights have now lost back-to-back conference matches and fall to 2-9 overall and 0-2 in the BIG EAST. The 30-26, 30-21, 30-26 victory was Marquette's first conference match as the Golden Eagles improve to 4-6 overall and 1-0 in the conference.
Thompson posted team-highs of 10 kills and 12 digs for the Scarlet Knights, while freshman Lauren Voss (Hartland, Wis.) tied her career-high with nine kills. Freshman Emma Chrystal (Portage, Mich.) tallied a career-high 22 assists in the loss.
Seniors led the way for Marquette as Kim Todd posted her sixth double-double of the season with a match-high 17 kills to go along with 10 digs and setter Katie Weidner dished out a match-high 41 assists.
Marquette jumped out to an early lead as the Golden Knights won the first six points of the match, however the Scarlet Knights came all the way back and only trailed by one at 27-26. RU could get no closer though as Marquette won the last three points to take the first game 30-26.
Rutgers opened the second game with a 6-1 run, but the Golden Eagles battled back with an 11-3 run to take a 12-9 advantage. The Scarlet Knights would win the next two points on a service ace from Roxy Calder (Oceanside, Calif.) and a kill from Thompson to get within one point, but they would get no closer falling 30-21 in the second game.
The Golden Eagles again started quickly in the third game, taking an 18-9 lead. Rutgers fought back though once again, pulling within three at 29-26. However, RU could not extend the match, committing an error on match-point to fall 30-26 in the final game.
The Scarlet Knights will return home on Friday, Sept. 28 for their BIG EAST home-opener against Georgetown. The match is set to start at 7 p.m. at the College Avenue Gym.
