PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Oct. 3, 2014) - The Rutgers women's volleyball team dropped its Big Ten home opener to No. 15 Purdue on Friday night at the College Ave. Gym. The Boilermakers swept the Scarlet Knights by scores of 25-20, 25-14 and 25-23.

"Although I was disappointed with set two, I was excited with the team's performance in sets one and three," said head coach CJ Werneke. "This should really boost our player's confidence. Purdue is in the top three of the conference and ranked 15th in the nation. To be at 19-20 in set one and to be at 23-24 in set three, it really shows our resiliency and perseverance. We didn't give up despite a poor second set and that is something we can build upon."

Despite the loss, senior Nicole Bayer (Concord, Ohio) posted a team-high 21 assists. Junior Ali Schroeter (Bakersfield, Calif.) paced the Scarlet Knights with 11 digs.

The Boilermakers were led by junior outside Annie Drews with 12 kills. Senior setter Val Nichol posted 13 digs to lead Purdue.

Set one began with both teams trading points. Purdue started to move ahead in the count before Rutgers scored on a long volley with a kill by junior outside Alex Lassa (Eagle, Colo.), bringing the score to 14-17. Down 16-20, RU posted three straight points to bring the score to 19-20. The late momentum was not enough to top the Boilermakers as the Scarlet Knights dropped the first by a 20-25 decision.

Moving into the second, Rutgers lost its rhythm, falling behind, 3-13, at the start of the set. Rutgers found a spark on a service ace by freshman outside Meme Fletcher (Overland Park, Kan.), sending the team on a four-point run to set the count at 10-22. Rutgers continued to fight, but Purdue took the set 25-14.

In set three, Rutgers recovered its strength from the first, keeping the score balanced. After falling behind 7-10, a huge dig by junior libero Ronnie Komisarek (San Mateo, Calif.) in an intense volley reignited the team. The Scarlet Knights brought the match to 9-10 and continued to trade points with the Boilermakers. Both teams rallied up until the final plays, but after a close battle, Rutgers fell by the small margin of 23-25.

Rutgers continues the weekend at home, hosting Indiana on Sunday, Oct. 5. The match is set for 2 p.m. at the College Ave. Gym.

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-RU-