PISCATAWAY, N.J. (October 28, 2011) - Junior setter Stephanie Zielinski (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) picked up her BIG EAST-leading 14th double-double of the season and classmate Alex Jones (Chesapeake, Va.) tallied 11 kills in 14 attempts, but Rutgers University volleyball dropped 3-0 to Villanova on Friday night at the College Ave Gym.
"I think they set the tone right from the beginning," said head coach CJ Werneke after the match. "Villanova came in aggressive after coming off a loss at home. We tried to prepare our team as much as we could for that this week, knowing that they were going to be coming in with a little bit of an attitude and a chip on their shoulder. Unfortunately our kids just did not respond. They were just a little bit too strong for us tonight."
Villanova (15-9, 7-3 BIG EAST) came out strong early - as noted by Werneke - with an aggressive serving game, forcing the Scarlet Knights to scramble to clear the ball over the net. The Wildcats took advantage with a .286 hitting percentage compared to .000 for RU in the opening stanza.
Rutgers (8-18, 1-8 BIG EAST) responded in the next set with a more consistent passing game to challenge Villanova - the best statistical defense in the conference. RU tied the set at 22 after freshman Sofi Cucuz (Crown Point, Ind.) put down a kill, but the Wildcats converted kills on three of the next four points to take the set and a 2-0 lead heading into the break.
The Scarlet Knights had chances in the third, but the Wildcats proved to be too dominant on this night, taking the set 25-20 to defeat RU for the sixth-straight time. VU now leads the all-time series 13-9.
Zielinski continued her strong play at setter with 28 assists, 16 digs and four blocks. She also had two kills in two attempts. The junior has now recorded a double-double in six of the last seven matches with her total of 14 leading the conference.
Jones led the Scarlet Knights with 11 kills on the night on an efficient .786 hitting percentage. Cucuz added nine kills from her outside hitter position.
Defensively, Zielinski's 16 digs led the team, while senior Kallie Pence (College Station, Texas) picked up 10. It was the 19th time this season Pence notched double-digit digs.
Villanova was led by 14 kills from Morgan Petkovich, 15 digs from Kim Maroon and 38 assists from Allie DiBernardo.
Friday's match was only the fourth time (1-3) this season that Rutgers led the match in blocks, picking up five on the night. Villanova hit at .295 compared to .221 for the Scarlet Knights.
RU will return to the court on Sunday, taking on Georgetown at 2 p.m. at the College Ave Gym for another BIG EAST contest.
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