Rutgers University
Army
Rutgers Volleyball Splits Doubleheader to Close out Delaware Invitational
Sep 05 | Women's Volleyball
NEWARK, Del. - The Rutgers volleyball team put on its strongest performance of the season as it overcame a 2-0 deficit to surge past Princeton, 3-2, capturing its first victory of the season Saturday afternoon in the 33rd Annual Delaware Invitational at the Barb Viera Court. Rutgers’ strong play didn’t carry over to the tournament finale as it fell to host Delaware, 3-0.
For the second straight tournament, junior co-captain Caitlin Saxton (Encinitas, Calif.) was named to the all-tournament team.
The Scarlet Knights (1-5) turned up the intensity after dropping the first two sets against the Tigers (0-3) to gain its first victory of the season by a score of 24-26, 20-25, 25-13, 25-14, 17-15. Rutgers leads the all-time series with Princeton with an 18-11 advantage.
“The girls held themselves accountable and made a conscious effort to work together on every point to get the win,” said head coach CJ Werneke. “They performed with great execution, effort and teamwork. The win helps gives our program some validity in what we are trying to accomplish. We know we are an improved team this year but victories are the measuring stick and they solidify our team’s effort.”
The Scarlet Knights opened the Princeton match strong with an 18-13 first-set lead. The Tigers began to crawl back in the match and with Rutgers holding onto a slim 24-23 advantage, the Scarlet Knights suffered three straight attack errors, giving the set to the Tigers.
The Tigers came out on fire in the second set as they stormed out to a 7-0 lead. Rutgers could do little to slow Princeton’s momentum as the Tigers cruised the rest of the set to win 25-20 and take a 2-0 match lead.
The third set is where Rutgers turned the tables. The Scarlet Knights dominated the next two sets as it relied on stout defensive play and opportunistic offense to take the third (25-13) and forth game (25-14) to push the match to a fifth game.
The final game went back and forth with neither team relinquishing more than a two-point lead. With the Scarlet Knights up 16-15,Saxtonsealed the deal with her 23rd kill of the match to give Rutgers the victory.
Along with Saxton’s 23 kills, the 5-foot-9 outside hitter served two aces and notched 13 digs.
Saxton was one of three Scarlet Knights who scored double-digit kills as fellow junior Emma Chrystal (Kalamazoo, Mich.) swatted 13 and sophomore Hannah Curtis (Wasilla, Ala.) collected 12.
Senior co-captain Jamie Godfrey (Rahway, N.J.) scooped a career-best 24 digs.
Rutgers’ highly-touted freshman class continues to be a force. Stephanie Zielinski (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) posted a double-double with 40 assists and 11 digs. Alex Jones (Chesapeake, Va.) collected eight kills and swatted three blocks, including two solos. Kylie Orr (Kettering, Ohio) contributed seven kills.
The Blue Hens (4-2) controlled the match throughout against the Scarlet Knights as they notched the three-set win by scores of 25-22, 25-9, 25-21. Saxton and Zielinski were the highlights for Rutgers against Delaware as Saxton scored 17 kills and Zielinski tossed out 17 assists.
Rutgers will participate in its third tournament in as many weeks next weekend at the North Carolina State Classic. Along with Rutgers, host North Carolina State, Dartmouth, George Mason and Xavier will participate in the event.
2009 Delaware Invitational Results
All times Eastern
Friday, Sept. 4
Army def. Rutgers, 3-1 (25-15, 19-25, 25-16, 25-18)
Delaware def. Princeton, 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-11)
Saturday, Sept. 5
Delaware def. Army, 3-1 (25-17, 25-15, 23-25, 25-19)
Rutgers def. Princeton, 3-2 (24-26, 20-25, 25-13, 25-14, 17-15)
Army def. Princeton, 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-22)
Delaware def. Rutgers, 3-0 (25-22, 25-9, 25-21)
Delaware Invitational All-Tournament Team
Princeton - Sheena Donohue
Army - Ariana Mankus, Rachel Willis
Rutgers - Caitlin Saxton
Delaware - Katie Dennehy, Michelle LaLonde, Jess Chason (MVP)
