Rutgers Volleyball Opens BIG EAST Home Slate This Weekend
Sep 27 | Women's Volleyball
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - The Rutgers University volleyball team will return home for its first two home conference matches of the year this weekend as the Scarlet Knights will host Georgetown (4-12, 0-2 BIG EAST) on Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. and South Florida (8-3, 0-2 BIG EAST) on Sunday, Sept. 30 at 2 p.m.
The Scarlet Knights (2-9, 0-2 BIG EAST) have opened with 10 of their first 11 matches on the road, but were victorious in their lone home match against Norfolk State. Last weekend, RU fell in two conference road matches at Syracuse and at Marquette. Sophomore Kyra Thompson (Tuscon, Ariz.) led the team with 17 kills and 21 digs, while freshman Emma Chrystal (Portage, Mich) tallied a team-high 32 assists in the two matches.
Last season Georgetown defeated Rutgers 3-0 and South Florida topped the Scarlet Knights 3-1. Both matches were on the road.
"If we're going to continue to try to take steps forward we have to start playing better against teams like these," said third-year head coach Orlando Gonzalez. "We haven't handled them very well in the past, but I think our increasing crowd support will give us a distinct advantage."
Friday evenings match will also be Greek Night at "The Barn" as the house with the most in attendance will win prizes including t-shirts and backpacks. Sunday's match will be Youth Day and at the end of the match all fans in attendance are encouraged to come to court level to have their pictures taken with the team and get autographs from their favorite Scarlet Knights.
"We anticipate continued support and as the interest in the game goes up, College Avenue Gym will become a more hostile place for our opponents," said Gonzalez.
