MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (September 23, 2011) – Rutgers University volleyball opened its BIG EAST schedule with a 3-0 loss at West Virginia University on Friday night at the WVU Coliseum. The Scarlet Knights fall to 5-12 in BIG EAST openers.

“I thought we played pretty sloppy tonight and did not execute the game plan,” said head coach CJ Werneke after the match. “Anytime you pass the way we did today, it is very difficult to win.”

West Virginia (3-9, 1-0 BIG EAST) notched 10 service aces on the night – the most RU has allowed in a match all season.

Sophomore Sheridan Taylor (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) paced Rutgers with seven kills from the middle blocker position to surpass 100 for her career. Freshman Sofi Cucuz (Crown Point, Ind.) and senior Hannah Curtis (Wasilla, Alaska) each picked up six kills for the Scarlet Knights (6-11, 0-1 BIG EAST).

Senior Kallie Pence (College Station, Texas) led RU defensively, recording 10 digs. It was the 15th time this season she has registered double-digit digs.

After dropping the first set, 25-17, Rutgers fell behind 8-3 in the second. However, RU rallied to take a 19-18 lead in an attempt to knot the match at one, but the Scarlet Knights could not close it out as WVU prevailed to seal the set, 25-23. With the momentum in hand, the Mountaineers sailed in the third, 25-19, to earn their first BIG EAST win of the season.

The Scarlet Knights will continue the road trip on Sunday against Pittsburgh. The first serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Fitzgerald Field House.

“We will have a practice [Saturday] in Pittsburgh to make some adjustments,” said Werneke. “We have to work on our side of the net, mostly from an execution standpoint. Hopefully we can see some better results.”