Final Stats

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Oct. 25, 2014) - Following a loss on the road at College Park, Md. earlier in the week, the Rutgers volleyball team dropped another five-set showdown to Maryland on Saturday night at the College Ave. Gym.

The Scarlet Knights (7-16, 0-10 Big Ten) opened the rematch with a 27-25 win in the first, but went on to fall to the Terps (9-12, 2-8 Big Ten) in the next two by scores of 25-21 and 25-19. With a 25-21 win in the fourth, Rutgers stayed alive in the match. Maryland took the deciding set, 15-9, and the win.

"Both teams played hard tonight," said head coach CJ Werneke. "Anytime you get back and forth in sets there are going to be opportunities that arise and Maryland made plays in those moments in set five. Give all the credit to them; they rose up in every aspect of play in the fifth set. What we learned is that we can battle with teams like this. We are continuing to get better. We are winning sets in the Big Ten. We are getting into game fives. We just have to continue improving from here."

Despite the final score, sophomore middle Lauren Cloyd (Champaign, Ill.) put up a career performance for RU, leading the team with a career-high 17 kills. Junior outside Alex Lassa (Eagle, Colo.) recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 kills and 10 digs. Freshman setter Talia Holze (Wheaton, Ill.) added on a career-best of her own, putting up 23 assists on the night.

On the defensive side, junior middle Eden Frazier (Irvine, Calif.) blocked a total of five attacks from Maryland to pace the squad. Junior libero Ali Schroeter (Bakersfield, Calif.) pulled up a team-high 19 digs in the match.

Maryland was led yet again by senior outside Ashleigh Crutcher, tallying 20 kills. Sophomore setter Carlotta Oggioni registered a team-best 26 assists in the win.

Set one established the pace of the night with both teams rallying point for point. With the count balanced from the onset, Maryland began to break away on a three-point run, creating the first substantial lead at 13-10. Rutgers responded with a kill from junior middle Mikaela Matthews (San Diego, Calif.), returning momentum to the Scarlet Knights. The teams continued to trade points, but RU was able to hold off Maryland, taking set one by the final score of 27-25.

Set two played out similar to the first. Neither team was able to move ahead in the count, until the Terps found an 18-12 lead on five straight kills. The Scarlet Knights kept up their fight, closing the deficit to 20-23. Rutgers tacked on one more point before Maryland closed the set, 25-21.

The Terps commanded an early lead in the third set, in which they never let up. Set three went to Maryland, 25-19.

Moving into the fourth, Rutgers came alive, jumping to a 12-4 lead to start the set. The Terps were stumped by the large margin the Scarlet Knights quickly developed. Maryland minimized the gap to 16-18, but RU maintained its dominance. The Scarlet Knights won the set, 25-21, pushing the match to a game five.

Rutgers and Maryland came to play in the deciding set. With the score tied 2-2, Crutcher put down three straight kills to construct a 5-2 lead for Maryland. A kill by Lassa stopped the Terps' momentum, giving the Scarlet Knights the opportunity for a comeback. On back-to-back kills from Frazier and sophomore outside Micaela Anderson (La Canada, Calif.), RU cut the deficit to 6-9. Maryland held on, finding its match-point with the score at 14-7. The Scarlet Knights were not finished yet. The home team tacked on three straight points before the Terps ended the set, 15-9. Maryland escaped with its second win in Big Ten play.

Up next, Rutgers hosts Nebraska on Friday, Oct. 25 for a 7 p.m. match at the Barn.

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-RU-