Rutgers University
Syracuse
Late Rally Not Enough for Rutgers Volleyball at Syracuse
Oct 21 | Women's Volleyball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (October 21, 2011) – Rutgers University volleyball rallied to win the third set after falling behind 2-0 at Syracuse, but the Orange won the fourth to win the match, 3-1, on Friday evening at the Women’s Building. SU won by scores of 25-14, 25-16, 23-25 and 25-17.
“I think we came out flat in games one and two and our defensive intensity was not there,” said head coach CJ Werneke after the match. “Syracuse was a bit more active defensively and we didn’t serve at a high level and they did. I think that is where games one and two were lost – they were in system offensively in a pretty good rhythm and we weren’t. Defensively they just out played us tonight.”
Syracuse (15-8, 4-3 BIG EAST) took the first two sets quickly, but Rutgers (8-16, 1-6 BIG EAST) responded to win the third behind 14 kills (.225 hitting percentage) and 20 digs to extend the contest. However, the Orange regrouped to win the fourth, dropping RU to 3-6 in four-set matches this season.
Junior Alex Jones (Chesapeake, Va.) – who had played in only one set since Sept. 3 – returned to the lineup for RU to record 14 kills in 19 attempts for a .684 hitting percentage with a match-high 16.5 points. Senior Hannah Curtis (Wasilla, Alaska) also played well up front, bouncing 11 kills from her middle blocker position.
Junior setter Stephanie Zielinski (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) picked up her BIG EAST-leading 12th double-double of the season with 36 assists and 10 digs on the night. Four of her double-doubles have come in conference matches.
On the defensive end, senior Kallie Pence (College Station, Texas) and sophomore Brittany Bozzini (Saratoga, Calif.) led the Scarlet Knights with 15 and 11 digs, respectively.
The Orange, using 13 players in the match, displayed their depth with three players tallying double-digit kills to hit at .336 for the match. Ashley Williams picked up a match-high 29 digs to help Syracuse improve to 6-3 at home this season.
Rutgers will look to rebound on Sunday afternoon at Marquette. The first serve is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, Wis. Live video and statistics will be available through the Golden Eagles’ official website.
