Volleyball Downed by No. 6 Penn State

Friday, November 7

University Park, Pa.

7:00 PM

Rutgers University

23-3, 11-2

Penn State

7-19, 0-13

RUTGERS

Penn State

Nov 07 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Nov. 7, 2014

State College, Pa. (Nov. 7, 2014) - Kicking off a three-game road swing, the Rutgers (7-19, 0-13 Big Ten) women's volleyball team fell to No. 6 Penn State (23-3, 11-2 Big Ten) in three straight sets on Friday night at Rec Hall. The reigning 2014 NCAA champions took the victory by set scores of 25-11, 25-12 and 25-10.

"Penn State is a program measured by final four appearances and national championships and anytime you have an opportunity to play a team of that caliber you are going to learn a lot," said head coach CJ Werneke. "We had that chance tonight to play an elite program and at times we made plays against them. We just didn't make enough to get it done."

Despite the loss, senior setter Nicole Bayer (Concord, Ohio) recorded her 1,000th career assist as a Scarlet Knight. Bayer currently sits at 10th in the all-time career record books with 1,003 put ups.

Senior libero Ali Schroeter (Bakersfield, Calif.) continues to creep up in the record books as she is now only 14 digs away from cracking the top three.

On Penn State's side of the net, freshman middle Haleigh Washington led the way with 13 kills in the match. Senior setter Micha Hancock registered 36 assists in the win.

After dropping set one, the Scarlet Knights began to pick up momentum moving into the second. The teams traded points until the Nittany Lions moved ahead, 8-3. Rutgers continued its fight bringing the count to 8-5. Penn State maintained strong control of the set, recording six blocks in the second stanza alone. RU kept pushing, but it was not enough to top PSU. The Nittany Lions took set two 25-12.

Moving into the third set with a 2-0 advantage, Penn State jumped ahead to a quick 10-4 lead. Rutgers continued to tack on points, attempting to diminish the deficit. In the end, PSU closed the set 25-10 to secure the win.

Rutgers continues the weekend at No. 18 Ohio State tomorrow night. On Friday night, OSU topped fellow Big Ten newcomer Maryland in a four-set battle. The Scarlet Knights' match against the Buckeyes is set for a 7 p.m. start.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding women's volleyball, follow the program on Twitter @RUvball.

-RU-