Rutgers Volleyball Concludes Season Against Connecticut, St. John's
Nov 11 | Women's Volleyball
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (November 11, 2011) - Rutgers University volleyball will finish the 2011 season with a pair of 2 p.m. matches at the College Ave Gym this weekend, taking on Connecticut on Saturday and St. John's on Sunday for "Alumni Weekend." The program will honor seniors Hannah Curtis (Wasilla, Alaska) and Kallie Pence (College Station, Texas) in a ceremony before Sunday's match.
Both matches will be available through GameTracker, while the St. John's contest will be aired on tape-delay on Verizon FiOS1 with Ralph Bednarczyk and Lauren Weber on the call.
"This weekend is exciting for us and we are looking forward to it," said fourth-year head coach CJ Werneke. "I think we match-up well against UConn, physically and from a volleyball aspect. St. John's is a question mark each year as they have a lot of international players. Each match against them has a different feel against them. We will be excited - both opponents are great regional rivals to us being so close to our location."
Prior to Sunday's contest against the Red Storm, the program will take a moment to recognize the two seniors, Curtis and Pence. The pair are the first two student-athletes to have played for four years under Werneke at Rutgers. Having won only two matches in their freshmen year, the program improved to double-digit victories in 2010.
Both are leaders and captains on the team, having laid down the foundation for future success. Coming into the weekend, Curtis has accumulated 848 kills (2.16 k/s) in 111 matches played. She also has 262 career blocks (0.21 b/s), needing five more to move into the top-10 in Rutgers history. Pence started off as a setter, but has transitioned smoothly to a defensive specialist this season. She has 733 career digs (2.24 d/s) and 727 career assists (2.22 a/s) in 105 matches.
The Scarlet Knights (8-21, 1-11 BIG EAST) are coming off a pair of road losses last weekend. RU took DePaul to five sets on Saturday, with freshman Sofi Cucuz (Crown Point, Ind.) and Curtis leading the way with 14 kills offensively. Junior setter Stephanie Zielinski (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) (54 assists) totaled at least 50 assists for the eighth time this season. Zielinski - who also had 10 digs at DePaul - extended her double-double streak to seven-straight with 19 assists and 10 digs at Notre Dame. She leads the conference with 17 double-doubles this season.
Three Scarlet Knights are in position to write their names in the Rutgers volleyball single-season record book. Pence enters the weekend with 356 digs this season, currently sixth-most in a season. Junior Alex Jones (Chesapeake, Va.) - who missed 14 matches due to injury - reached 200 kills for the season against the Fighting Irish, qualifying her hitting percentage (.375) for second-highest in school history. Valerie Clark (1984) holds the record with a .386 clip. Additionally, Zielinski raised her assist total to 1,061 for the season - ninth-most in a season. Her 2,849 career assists still rank fourth all-time in program history.
Connecticut (14-13, 4-8 BIG EAST) comes into its New Jersey trip looking to secure a winning record for the season. The Huskies had a three-match win streak until a loss versus Pittsburgh last Sunday. Players to look for include Jordan Kirk who leads the team with 316 kills (3.33 k/s) on the season, ranking ninth in the BIG EAST. Kelsey Maving is having a strong season defensively, averaging 5.38 digs per set. She was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Oct. 30. Angela Roidt is eighth in the conference with 9.82 assists per set from her setter position.
Rutgers trails UConn, 19-8, in a series that dates back to 1977 - the first year of RU volleyball. The Huskies have won the last seven matchups, including a 3-0 victory at Gampel Pavilion last season. Rutgers last won (3-0) on Sept. 21, 2001 at the College Ave Gym. The schools are approximately 170 miles apart from each other.
St. John's (10-19, 1-11 BIG EAST) heads into the weekend having lost the last four, but defeated playoff-bound Villanova in three sets on Oct. 23. The Red Storm have nine players on its roster that were born outside the United States, including Paulina Piegza who ranks ninth in the league with a .294 hitting percentage. Darlene Ramdin leads the team with 326 kills (3.08 k/s) this season.
Rutgers trails the all-time series, 10-7, in a matchup that dates back to 1994. STJ won last season's match, 3-1, in Queens. RU won the last meeting in New Brunswick on Nov. 8, 2009, 3-2.
Click on the match notes for complete information, including notes, trends, stats and player pages.
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