Volleyball Set for Trip to Michigan State
Oct 16 | Women's Volleyball
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Oct. 16, 2015) - Following a midweek match against No. 23 Michigan, Rutgers volleyball remains on the road, traveling to Michigan State on Saturday, Oct. 17. The match is set for a 7 p.m. ET start at the Jenison Field House.
The contest will be streamed live on BTN Plus, along with live results. More information on how to subscribe can be found here.
GAME NOTES| 2015 STATISTICS
Rutgers at Michigan State - Saturday, Oct. 17 | 7 p.m.
BTN Plus| RU'S LAST TIME OUT
Rutgers (3-16, 0-7 Big Ten) is coming off a four-set loss at No. 23 Michigan, as the Scarlet Knights pushed the Spartans to the brink in the final sets before dropping the match by scores of 25-18, 25-12, 21-25 and 23-25. After falling in the first two sets, the Scarlet Knights sealed a huge comeback win in set three to stay alive. A wire-to-wire battle ensued in the waning serves of set four, however, with the score tied at 23-23 UM registered the final two points to come away with the win.
Three Scarlet Knights finished the match with double-digits in the kills column, guided by sophomore outside Meme Fletcher (Overland Park, Kan.) and her fifth double-double of the year with 13 kills and 14 digs. Fletcher also tied her career-high with three service aces, as RU lead UM in the category. The sophomore currently ranks fifth amongst all Big Ten hitters with 3.88 kills per set.
Junior right side Lauren Cloyd (Champaign, Ill.) added in 12 kills of her own in the loss, while senior outside Megan Stephenson (Burbank, Calif.) followed with 10. Senior setter Anna Sudbury (Tomahawk, Wisc.) added a match-high 43 assists, anking 11th in the conference with 8.82 assists per set.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan State (12-6, 4-3 Big Ten) enters the match following a 3-1 victory over Maryland on Wednesday night. The Spartans claimed the first set 25-18, before the Terps bounced back with a 25-22 win in set two. However, MSU took the remaining two frames by scores of 25-15 and 25-18 to defeat UMD in four. Prior to the win over Maryland, Michigan State had snapped a two-game losing streak, which included a 3-2 loss to No. 23 Michigan and a 3-1 loss to No. 4 Nebraska, by defeating Iowa in straight sets.
Brooke Kandra paces the Spartans with 3.26 kills per set, followed by Allyssah Fitterer with 2.56 kills per stanza. As a team, Michigan State ranks second in the conference with a set average of 14.32 kills. Rachel Minarick adds in 8.77 assists per set to guide MSU, while Abby Monson registers a team-high 3.62 digs per frame. Head coach Cathy George is in her 11th year at the helm of the program.
SERIES VERSUS THE SPARTANS
The Spartans have captured victories in all three matchups with the Scarlet Knights. The first dating back to 2000, while the next two came in 2014 as the teams met as conference foes. In the first league meeting on Oct. 18,2014, MSU took the match by set scores of 25-16, 25-21 and 25-21. Then on Nov. 22, RU fell by set scores of 25-15, 25-17 and 25-18.
Fletcher led RU in the first of the two matches last season with a team-high eight kills, while Micaela Anderson and Lauren Cloyd split the lead in the second with seven kills apiece.
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