Rutgers Volleyball Heads North
Oct 20 | Women's Volleyball
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (October 20, 2011) - Looking to ride the momentum of the biggest win of the season, Rutgers University volleyball will hit the road to face Syracuse on Friday at 5 p.m. and Marquette on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. in search of its first true road win of the season.
"It is going to take the same kind of effort that we had at home to win on the road," said fourth-year head coach CJ Werneke. "One of the challenges and measuring sticks for us is to win on the road - all the teams that make the BIG EAST Tournament win matches on the road. If we want to climb up the BIG EAST ladder, we better find a way to win away from home. No better way to find that out than Friday at Syracuse."
Live stats during the match against the Orange will be available, while a video stream and real-time stats will be accessible for the Marquette match.
Rutgers (8-15, 1-5 BIG EAST) is coming off an impressive home sweep over Seton Hall last Friday. RU held control throughout the match, never trailing by more than three points in a set against a team that entered the night 4-1 in the league. It was the second-straight year that Rutgers won its first conference game at home versus the Pirates. The Scarlet Knights - who hit at a .250 clip for the night - were led offensively by sophomore Tiffany Regmund's (Bryan, Texas) 13 kills. She has recorded double-digit kills 11 times this season. Junior setter Stephanie Zielinski (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) picked up her 11th double-double of the campaign with 27 assists and 15 digs.
Zielinski was recognized for her efforts, placing on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. It was the third time in her career she earned such distinction. The junior's 11 double-doubles lead the conference.
Syracuse (14-8, 3-3 BIG EAST) is coming off of a midweek win over Binghamton and sits eighth in the conference standings. The Orange have been tough up front, ranking sixth in nation in blocks (3.06 b/s) and first in the league. Noemie Lefebvre leads the team with 225 kills (2.71 k/s) this season, while setter Laura Homann is fourth in the BIG EAST with 10.34 assists per set.
Rutgers trails the all-time series with Syracuse, 15-7. The Orange have won the last seven matches, including a 3-0 win at the College Ave Gym last season. Brittany Bozzini (Saratoga, Calif.) had seven kills and nine digs for RU in the loss. The Scarlet Knights last beat the Orange on Oct. 10, 2003 at Syracuse, 3-2.
Marquette (16-6, 6-0 BIG EAST) enters the weekend with a perfect conference record. The Golden Eagles have been efficient on offense, as Danielle Carlson (.410) and Carol Henney (.393) lead the league in hitting percentage. Setter Chelsea Heier has won BIG EAST Freshman of the Week three times this season, including the last two weeks. She leads the conference with 12.04 assists.
Rutgers trails the all-time series with Marquette, 8-1. MU has taken the last six matchups, including a 3-0 win at the College Ave Gym last season. RU's only win in the series came at the Raddison Invitational on Sept. 11, 2004.
Click on the match notes for complete information, including notes, trends, stats and player pages.
