VBALL Concludes Inaugural Season with Two Home Matchups
Nov 25 | Women's Volleyball
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Nov. 25, 2014) - Concluding its inaugural season in the Big Ten, the Rutgers women's volleyball team hosts its final two matches of the season against No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 20 Ohio State. The Scarlet Knights will face the Badgers on Wednesday, Nov. 26 and will take on the Buckeyes on Saturday, Nov. 29.
Both matchups are set for 7 p.m. starts at the College Ave. Gym.
SENIOR KNIGHT
Saturday's contest against Ohio State marks the final game in the Scarlet uniform for seniors Rachel Andreassian (Fredricksburg, Texas), Nicole Bayer (Concord, Ohio) and Lea Williams (Plainsboro, N.J.). The three Scarlet Knights will be honored in a senior night ceremony prior to the start of the match.
GAME NOTES
No. 2 Wisconsin - Nov. 26, 7 p.m.
No. 20 Ohio State - Nov. 29, 7 p.m.
RU'S LAST TIME OUT
Rutgers (7-24, 0-18 Big Ten) suffered two road losses last week against then-No. 16 Purdue on Wednesday night and Michigan State on Saturday night. After dropping the first set of the match to the Boilermakers, the Scarlet Knights came from behind to bring the count to 22-20 in the second set. The late momentum in the stanza was not enough to top Purdue as the squad fell in three sets. In East Lansing, MSU swept RU by scores of 25-15, 25-17 and 25-16.
Sophomore middle Micaela Anderson (La Canada, Calif.) continued her late season run, leading the team with 17 kills on the weekend. Classmate Lauren Cloyd (Champaign, Ill.) followed with 14 knock downs of her own.
On the defensive side, junior Mikaela Matthews (San Diego, Calif.) leads the Scarlet Knights with 103 blocks on the year. Junior libero Ali Schroeter (Bakersfield, Calif.) boasts a team-high 443 digs, ranking fifth in the Big Ten with 4.14 digs per stanza.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN
No. 2 Wisconsin (26-2, 17-1 Big Ten), the national runner-up of the 2013 NCAA tournament, stands atop the Big Ten Conference standings. Wisconsin is currently on a 17-game win streak, after facing its only blemish in conference play against No. 3 Penn State to open its Big Ten slate. The Badgers enter the weekend in pursuit of claiming the conference title outright with two road victories against Rutgers and No. 19 Purdue.
Last week, the Badgers swept No. 20 Ohio State (3-0) on the road and topped No. 10 Illinois (3-1) at home. The Big Ten Setter of the Week, sophomore Lauren Carlini, recorded her 14th double-double of the season with 54 assists and 10 digs against the Fighting Illini. Carlini ranks first in the Big Ten in assists per stanza (11.49) and 12th nationally. Freshman outside Kelli Bates joined her teammate on the list, earning her first Freshman of the Week honor. Bates averaged 4.29 kills, 1.71 digs and 1.14 blocks per set.
Head coach Kelly Sheffield is in his second season with the Badgers.
SERIES VERSUS WISCONSIN
Wisconsin took the victory over Rutgers in the first ever meeting earlier this season on Friday, Oct. 10. The sixth-ranked Badgers grabbed the win in three sets by scores of 25-8, 25-17 and 25-15.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
No. 20 Ohio State (19-11, 10-8 Big Ten) split its week with a win over Iowa (3-0) on Wednesday night and a loss to Wisconsin (3-0) on Friday. The Buckeyes' loss to the Badgers marked the squad's second loss at home on the season.
Senior outside Erin Sekinger paces the Buckeyes with 3.21 kills per set with a total of 359 strikes on the year. Senior setter Taylor Sherwin averages 9.78 assists per stanza to lead the squad and to rank eighth in the Big Ten. Defensively, sophomore middle Taylor Sandbothe leads the team with 1.12 blocks per set.
Head coach Geoff Carlston is in his seventh season at the helm of the program.
SERIES VERSUS OHIO STATE
Ohio State created a 2-1 advantage in the all-times series after defeating Rutgers on Saturday, Nov. 8. On the road, the Scarlet Knights fell in three straight sets to the Buckeyes by scores of 25-9, 25-18 and 25-13.
OSU will face Minnesota on Wednesday night before making the trip to the College Ave. Gym.
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