Rutgers Volleyball Hosts Villanova, Georgetown
Oct 27 | Women's Volleyball
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (October 27, 2011) - Rutgers University volleyball returns home this weekend to host Villanova and Georgetown at the College Ave Gym. The match versus the Wildcats is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m., while the contest against the Hoyas will be on Sunday at 2 p.m.
"Right now we are focused on Villanova," said fourth-year head coach CJ Werneke. "We battle them each and every year, the games are pretty close. It is one of those rivalries that we look forward to. Our kids believe we are on the same level as them, but they have just gotten the best of us - a couple points here, a couple points there. Our kids believe and have a lot of confidence after last weekend returning home to play a good Villanova team. We are going to be ready. It is a match our team believes we can win."
The Scarlet Knights (8-17, 1-7 BIG EAST) are coming off two road setbacks at Syracuse and Marquette last weekend. In the Sunday match in Milwaukee, RU went toe-to-toe with first-place Marquette, but lost in five sets after taking the first two. Rutgers led the match in kills (51), assists (46), aces (9) and digs (64), but MU committed 12 less errors to earn the win. Junior Alex Jones (Chesapeake, Va.) bounced a match-high 19 kills, while classmate Stephanie Zielinski (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) picked up her BIG EAST-leading 13th double-double of the season with 46 assists and 13 digs. Sophomore Brittany Bozzini (Saratoga, Calif.) also had 14 digs.
Rutgers dropped the first two sets at Syracuse, which proved to be the downfall in the four-set loss to the Orange. Senior libero Kallie Pence (College Station, Texas) had 15 digs for the Scarlet Knights.
Jones, a middle blocker, returned from injury last weekend to earn a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. The junior totaled 33 kills (3.67 k/s) in matches against Syracuse and Marquette on a league-best .604 hitting percentage. Jones has only played in one set since Sept. 3 due to injuries. It was the second time this season she earned a spot on the conference honor roll (Sept. 5).
Villanova (14-9, 6-3 BIG EAST) has won two of its last three matches, but were swept by St. John's last Sunday. The Wildcats are currently in fourth place in the conference, and hold a 2-2 record in road league games this season. VU has been stingy on defense, leading the league in digs (17.72 d/s) and opponent hitting percentage (.152), piloted by libero Kim Maroon who leads the BIG EAST with 6.88 digs per set.
Rutgers trails the all-time series with Villanova, 12-9, in a matchup that dates back to 1983. The Wildcats have won the last five matches, including a 3-1 win at the College Ave Gym last season. RU last defeated VU on Oct. 15, 2005 at home.
Georgetown (12-10, 4-5 BIG EAST) enters the weekend half a game out of the eighth and final spot for the BIG EAST Tournament. The Hoyas won a pair of home matches against St. John's and Connecticut last weekend, but are 1-4 in road conference matches this season. Alex Johnson leads the team with 240 kills (2.82 k/s), while Dani White is fifth in the league with a .311 hitting percentage.
Rutgers has beaten Georgetown more times than any other opponent (tied with Temple), leading the all-time series, 25-15, in a rivalry that dates back to 1978. The home team has won the last seven matches in the series. RU has won the last seven home contests versus GU, with the last home loss coming in 1995. Last year's match went to Georgetown in five sets. Rutgers fell behind 2-0, but took the next two sets to even the match. GU narrowly took the fifth, 15-13. Jones led the Scarlet Knights with 15 kills. The teams have met in the BIG EAST Tournament twice (1998, 2001).
Click on the match notes for complete information, including notes, trends, stats and player pages.
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