Volleyball 2014 Season Review
Dec 15 | Women's Volleyball
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Dec. 15, 2014) - The Rutgers women's volleyball team concluded an historic year "On the Banks" in 2014 as the Scarlet Knights took part in its inaugural season as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
B1G COMPETITION
The Scarlet Knights faced a challenging slate this season as a new member of the Big Ten. RU went up against seven ranked opponents, marking the most the team had ever battled in a single season and the most in conference play. A total of 11 Big Ten matchups were against a ranked team as Rutgers faced three of those programs twice in the year.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the Big Ten sent six squads to the NCAA Tournament. The group consisted of No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 4 Penn State, No. 10 Illinois, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 18 Ohio State and Michigan State. The Badgers, the Nittany Lions and the Cornhuskers all advanced to the regional semifinals of the Tournament, while PSU moved on to the Final Four.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS
Rutgers continued to rewrite the record books as junior libero Ali Schroeter (Bakersfield, Calif.), junior outside Alex Lassa (Eagle, Colo.) and senior setter Nicole Bayer (Concord, Ohio) continued to climb up the rankings in the record book.
Schroeter concluded the year with a team-high 468 digs, marking the second-most digs for a Scarlet Knight on the all-time single season list. Schroeter also extended her career total to 1,245 digs, ranking second in the career record books, as she needs only 99 more to move into the top spot. The Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree finished the season ranked fifth in the conference with 4.11 digs per set.
Lassa moved into sixth all-time for total attempts, with 3,071 career attacks. Bayer registered a team-best 523 assists this season to break into the eighth spot on the all-time list with 1,084 career put ups in the Scarlet uniform.
ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN
A total of ten Scarlet Knights were named to the Academic All-Big Ten Team following the season. The ten receiving recognition included Rachel Andreassian (Fredricksburg, Texas), Nicole Bayer (Concord, Ohio), Lauren Cloyd (Champaign, Ill.), Sofi Cucuz (Crown Point,Ind.), Ronnie Komisarek (San Mateo, Calif.), Mikaela Matthews (San Diego, Calif.), Ali Schroeter (Bakersfield, Calif.), Megan Stephenson (Burbank, Calif.), Anna Sudbury (Tomahawk, Wis.) and Cole Trimble (Orlando, Fla.).
Rutgers had the second most student-athletes honored amongst all Big Ten volleyball squads. Illinois and Northwestern had the most with 11 recognized.
ALL-TOURNAMENT ACCOLADES
Rutgers opened the season with three nonconference tournaments. Sophomore middle Lauren Cloyd (Champaign, Ill.) and freshman outside Meme Fletcher (Overland Park, Kan.) both brought in All-Tournament honors for RU.
Cloyd was named to the Wendy Miranda All-Tournament Team following her performance at the Art Carmichael Invitational hosted by Rhode Island. She finished the tournament with a total of 26 kills and posted at least a .316 hitting percentage across all three matches.
The sophomore middle then received her second accolade of the season, when she was named to the Rutgers Invitational All-Tournament team. She compiled a total of 20 kills, 14 blocks and eight digs across four games.
Fletcher received an accolade of her own in week two, being named to the Seton Hall Invitational All-Tournament Team after finishing the event with a total of 39 kills and 35 digs.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Despite falling short of a conference victory, Rutgers found numerous highlights throughout a growing season. Overall, a powerful defensive unit of Scarlet Knights at the front of the net outblocked 16 opponents on the year, which included then-No. 14 Nebraska, No. 12 Illinois and No. 2 Wisconsin.
At the midway point of the year, Rutgers saw its progress materialize as the team captured its first set victories in conference play against Maryland. On the road, the Scarlet Knights opened the contest with a 25-22 victory in set one. RU went on to drop the next two sets before securing the win in the fourth to send the match into a deciding stanza. Rutgers fell short in the final test, giving Maryland its first conference win of the year.
Just four days after, the teams met again at the College Avenue Gym, where the teams competed in another five-set thriller. The match played out similar to the first outing as the squads went neck-and-neck through each stanza. At the conclusion of a hard fought battle, the Scarlet Knights fell to the Terps, 3-2.
Rutgers wrapped up its season with two final home contests. On Wednesday, Nov. 26, the Scarlet Knights welcomed the then-No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers to the Barn. RU dominated UW throughout set one, grabbing a huge set victory over the Badgers, 25-22, to start the contest strong.
Despite dropping the next three sets of the match, the Scarlet Knights joined a group of only three other Big Ten opponents to steal at least a set win from the Badgers. Wisconsin had faced defeat in seven total sets of conference action, sweeping 14 opponents in its 18 matchups. Wisconsin would go on to fall to Penn State in the regional semifinals of the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
SENIOR KNIGHTS
Rutgers graduates seniors Andreassian, Bayer and Lea Williams (Plainsboro, N.J.).
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