Rutgers Volleyball Travels to Florida to Take on USF
Sep 30 | Women's Volleyball
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (September 30, 2011) - Rutgers University volleyball will open the month of October with a BIG EAST match at the University of South Florida on Saturday at noon. The Scarlet Knights lead the all-time series against the Bulls, 5-4.
The match will be streamed via BullsVision for a charge, while GoUSFBulls.com will provide live stats for free.
Last season, RU collected one of its biggest wins in Tampa, defeating the Bulls in an epic five-set match. It took 18 points for the Scarlet Knights to clinch the fifth set. Brittany Bozzini (Saratoga, Calif.) had a day to remember, recording career highs in kills (24), attempts (49) and hitting percentage (.367). Rutgers hit at a .325 clip for the match.
"It was exciting," said head CJ Werneke looking back to last year. "They always bring a great crowd and it is an exciting environment to play in. I think our kids play better traditionally against South Florida for some reason. It could be the matchup or confidence that we can play with them."
Rutgers (6-12, 0-2) will look to use that experience this weekend to break a five-match losing streak. The Scarlet Knights will look to improve on several areas, including serve-receive. Last weekend against West Virginia and Pittsburgh RU committed 22 reception errors.
USF comes into the weekend at 5-9, 1-1, having split a pair of BIG EAST road matches last weekend. USF opened conference play with a five-set win over Syracuse Friday before losing at Marquette on Sunday. Janice Rivera leads the team defensively, tied for seventh in the conference with 4.67 digs per set. J'beria Davis controls the Bulls on the attack with 4.33 kills per set - third in the BIG EAST - while Shelbie Dailey (357) leads the team in assists. Claire Lessinger is in her eighth season as the head coach.
This will be the sixth-consecutive match away from the College Ave Gym for the Scarlet Knights and the third-straight BIG EAST road contest.
For more information on the Rutgers volleyball team, please log on to ScarletKnights.com to find up-to-date news, stats and information. Also follow the program on Twitter at Twitter.com/RUvball and Facebook at Facebook.com/RutgersVolleyball.
