Volleyball Returns to the Road
Oct 09 | Women's Volleyball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Oct. 9, 2014) - After opening Big Ten play at home, Rutgers women's volleyball returns to the road, traveling to No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 23 Minnesota. The Scarlet Knights face the Badgers on Friday, Oct. 10 and the Gophers on Saturday, Oct. 11.
Both matches are set for 8 p.m. and will be streamed live on BTN Plus. For more information on how to subscribe, click here.
No. 6 Wisconsin - Oct. 10, 8 p.m.
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No. 23 Minnesota - Oct. 11, 8 p.m.
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LAST TIME OUT
Rutgers (7-10, 0-4 Big Ten) kicked off its home conference slate last weekend, hosting then-No. 15 Purdue and Indiana. The Scarlet Knights made history, hosting its first Big Ten match against the Boilermakers. Down 0-2 moving into the third set against Purdue, Rutgers found its momentum. With a chance to stay alive, the Scarlet Knights brought the score to a close margin of 23-24, but were unable to hold off the Boilermakers. Rutgers went on to drop its second match of the weekend to Indiana.
Freshman outside Meme Fletcher (Overland Park, Kan.) paces RU's offense with 159 kills. Junior libero Ali Schroeter (Bakersfield, Calif.) leads the squad with 270 digs, ranking fifth in the Big Ten with 4.50 digs per set.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN
No. 6 Wisconsin (12-2, 3-1 Big Ten) enters the weekend after handing Illinois its first conference loss of the season. The Badgers defeated the Fighting Illini in four sets, crushing a seven-game win streak and an undefeated home record for Illinois.
Last season, Wisconsin advanced to the title match of the NCAA Tournament, falling to Penn State. The Badgers returned 11 letterwinners from that squad, including sophomore setter Lauren Carlini, who currently leads the team with 580 assists. Carlini is ranked first in the Big Ten and third in the nation in assists per set (11.84). Defensively, junior libero Taylor Morey paces the squad with 264 digs this season. Head coach Kelly Sheffield is in his second year at the helm of the program.
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS WISCONSIN
Friday's match will mark the first meeting between the new conference foes.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
No. 23 Minnesota (11-4, 1-3 Big Ten) was swept by Northwestern in its last outing. It marked the third straight conference loss for the team after opening Big Ten play with a 3-2 win over Ohio State.
Junior outside Daly Santana leads the team in kills (210) and service aces (22). She is third in the conference with 3.96 kills per set and 0.42 aces per set. Sophomore outside Sarah Wilhite is tied with Santana for a team-high 140 digs. The Gophers are led by third-year head coach Hugh McCutcheon.
Minnesota will host Maryland on Friday, Oct. 10 before facing Rutgers.
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS MINNESOTA
The Scarlet Knights hold a 2-1 advantage over the Gophers in the all-time series. The two teams first met in 1981, when Rutgers swept Minnesota. In 1983 the squads met again, resulting in a victory for RU. The Gophers welcomed the Scarlet Knights to the 1998 Minnesota Invitational, defeating RU 3-0 in the match.
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-RU-
