DAVIDSON, N.C. - Rutgers sophomore Caitlin Saxton (Encinitas, Calif.) netted a team-best 32 kills in two matches en route to earning all-tournament honors, however the Scarlet Knights fell to both UNC-Charlotte and host Davidson on the final day of the Davidson College Tournament at Belk Arena.
The Scarlet Knights (1-8) battled back to force a fifth set after dropping the first two against Charlotte, but the 49ers would win the decisive set and the match to improve to 6-4. Saxton recorded a career-high 24 kills, while junior Jamie Godfrey (Rahway, N.J.) had a career-high 24 digs.
Rutgers played its best volleyball of the weekend in the third set against the 49ers. An early 5-0 run would allow RU to play with the lead. The Scarlet Knights would lead by as many as 11 points and held on for a 25-19 set win.
In a tightly contested fourth set, Charlotte earned a match point at 24-23. However, RU won back-to-back points on kills and forced the tiebreaking set with an ace.
The 49ers jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the final frame, but a 7-2 RU run would cut the Charlotte lead to two (10-8). However, that was as close as the Scarlet Knights would get as Charlotte clinched the final set and the match with a 15-12 fifth set win.
Kat Hicks led Charlotte for the ninth time this season with 15 kills. She recorded her second double-double of the year by adding 18 digs. Senior libero Carly Romberg had a match-high 27 digs.
In the final match of the tournament, Davidson College swept RU 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-16). Sophomore Hayley Lawson had a match-high 39 assists to pace the Wildcats. Saxton led Rutgers with eight kills in the match.
Davidson pulled ahead 20-13 in the first set of the game, and held off Rutgers for a 25-21 win. The second set was evenly matched, and tied as late as 14-14, but the 'Cats took a slight lead 19-16 on a kill from Lawson, and took control of the match with a 25-22 win. Davidson took a commanding 13-9 lead in the final set and completed the sweep with a convincing 25-16 win.
Rutgers will return to action on Sept. 26 when the Scarlet Knights welcome Marquette for both their BIG EAST and home opener. The match is set to being at 7 p.m. at the College Ave. Gym.
