NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (October 18, 2009) – The Rutgers volleyball team dropped its third-straight match Sunday afternoon when the squad fell to Louisville by a 3-0 score at College Avenue Gym in New Brunswick, N.J.
The Cardinals (12-8, 5-2 BIG EAST) posted scores of 25-22, 25-20, 25-18 to capture the victory over the Scarlet Knights (8-13, 1-6 BIG EAST).
The Scarlet Knights held their own in the early goings of the first set with an efficient offensive attack to put the score at 21-21. The Cardinals controlled the remainder of the set by capturing four of the next five points to give UofL the first set victory. The Scarlet Knights tallied a .361 attack percentage with only four errors in the first set, which was highlighted by sophomore Hannah Curtis’ (Wasilla, Alaska) four kills on five attempts.
A number of errors limited Rutgers’ ability to maintain a strong offensive output as Louisville held the upper hand the rest of the way to gain the three-set win. Despite the loss, Rutgers head coach
CJ Werneke was please with his team’s ability to take risks.
“When you face an opponent as big as Louisville or Cincinnati, you have to take some chances,” said Werneke.” “We told our team that and the misses we had weren’t bad misses. They weren’t in the middle of the net or hitting the back wall - they were barley out.”
Junior outside hitter Caitlin Saxton (Encinitas, Calif.) led the Scarlet Knights in kills with 15 on an impressive .333 attack percentage. Her 15 kills ties for the most she has scored in a three-set match this season.
Freshmen Stephanie Zielinski (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) dished out 31 assists. The five-foot-10 setter has notched more than 30 assists nine times this season.
Senior libero Jamie Godfrey (Rahway, N.J.) scooped a match-high 17 digs. Godfrey’s 17 digs pushes her career total to 827 which places her 10th on the school’s all-time list. Godfrey passed former Scarlet Knight Jennifer Prosek, who tallied 818 digs from 1992-95.
The Cardinals were led by freshman Lola Arslanbekova as the five-foot-11 outside hitter swatted 14 kills on a .444 attack percentage.
Rutgers’ schedule will continue to challenge the Scarlet Knights as six of their final eight matches are on the road. Rutgers goes on a four-match road swing with contests against Fordham (Oct. 21), Seton Hall (Oct. 24), DePaul (Oct. 31) and Notre Dame (Nov. 1).
“It is never good to lose but we feel like we are competing at a higher level than at this point last year,” said Werneke. “Our goals are still alive and it is not about how you start it is about how you finish. There are a lot of matches still to be played. We have to continue to work hard and get ready for our next match.”
