NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (November 22, 2013) - Career nights from freshman middle blocker Lauren Cloyd (Champaign, Ill.) and sophomore setter Anna Sudbury (Tomahawk, Wis.) helped lead the Rutgers volleyball team (5-24, 1-14) to its first American Athletic Conference win over Temple (17-10, 8-7) Friday evening at the College Ave Gym. RU won in four sets, by scores of 25-15, 23-25, 25-16 and 25-23.
"This win means a lot," said head coach C.J. Werneke. "We're finally putting a whole match together step-by-step and that's important. We beat the other team tonight and didn't hurt ourselves. It's a good feeling."
Cloyd put forth a dominant effort on both the offensive and defensive ends, as the rookie terminated 13 kills on 22 attacks (.409) and added seven blocks in the winning cause. The Illinois native set a new career kills standard, while her block total tied her career-high.
Sudbury would also aid the Scarlet Knights from the front row, putting away a career-high nine kills on 11 attacks to finish the match with a scorching .818 hitting percentage. She added a career-best and team-high 30 assists.
Freshman outsider hitter Micaela Anderson (La Canada, Calif.) recorded a team-best 17 kills on 44 attempts for a .250 attack percentage, while second-year outside Alex Lassa (Eagle, Colo.) notched her 12th double-double of the year of 16 kills and 15 digs.
Defensively, senior defensive specialist Tracy Wright (Fair Lawn, N.J.) picked up a team-high 20 digs and sophomore DS Ali Schroeter (Bakersfield, Calif.) contributed 10.
RU finished the match with its second-best hitting percentage of the year at .260. In the first set alone, the Scarlet Knights recorded a .406 attack percentage and added another strong effort in the fourth set in which they hit .356.
As a team, Rutgers finished with 11 total blocks to the Owls' four. Six different Scarlet Knights recorded at least two blocks each in the match.
Temple was led by Elyse Burkert's 12 kills.
Rutgers concludes its home schedule Sunday, Nov. 24 with a 12 p.m. match against Memphis. The game will also be Senior Day, as seniors Tracy Wright and Brittany Bozzini (Saratoga, Calif.) will be honored before the beginning of the match for their contributions to the Rutgers volleyball program.
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