Rutgers Volleyball Prepares for Matchup with Villanova
Oct 07 | Women's Volleyball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (October 7, 2010) – The Rutgers volleyball team (7-10, 0-4) will continue its five-match home stand this weekend when it hosts BIG EAST rival Villanova (14-4, 3-1) on Saturday, Oct. 9, at 2 p.m. at the College Ave Gym.
Villanova, currently ranked third in the BIG EAST, is coming off of a weekend which saw it go 1-1 against BIG EAST opponents. The Wildcats fell to Marquette 3-1, and defeated Syracuse 3-1. In the win, junior Maggie Mergen led the squad with 15 kills and hit at a .344 clip, while junior Kim Maroon recorded 16 digs and launched seven service aces.
For the season, UV has been led by redshirt sophomore Morgan Petkovich who has tallied 206 kills, 135 digs and four double-doubles on the season.
In all-time series play, Villanova holds the advantage against Rutgers, 11-9. In their last meeting on Oct. 11, 2009, RU fell to the Wildcats on the road 19-25, 16-25, and 21-25. The last Rutgers victory in the series came on Oct. 15, 2005, when the Scarlet Knights downed the Wildcats in three sets (31-29, 33-31, 30-22) at College Ave Gym.
Last weekend in BIG EAST play, the Scarlet Knights dropped home matches to both Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Against Pitt, the Rutgers offense was paced by captains Stephanie Zielinski (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Caitlin Saxton (Encinitas, Calif.). Saxton recorded a team-high 10 kills while Zielinski added 28 assists. The RU defense was led by Kallie Pence (College Station, Texas) who recorded a match-high 12 digs. Against WVU, Alex Jones (Chesapeake, Va.) led the team with a solid attacking percentage and clutch serving.
For the season, RU has been led by Saxton, who leads the team in kills (184), service aces (18) and digs (163), and Zielinski, who paces the squad in assists (595).
