Volleyball Readies for Maryland
Oct 19 | Women's Volleyball
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Oct. 19, 2015) - The Rutgers volleyball team readies for back-to-back home and away matches against Maryland this week, as both teams look to pick up its first Big Ten victory of the season. The Scarlet Knights and Terrapins will first meet for a midweek match on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at the College Ave. Gym, before the teams close the week with a game on Saturday, Oct. 24 in College Park, Md.
| Rutgers (3-17, 0-8 Big Ten) vs. Maryland (10-12, 0-8 Big Ten) | |
| Date | Wednesday, Oct. 21 |
| Time | 7:00 p.m. EST |
| Location | New Brunswick, N.J. |
| Promotion | Black Out Student Ticket Raffle - Rutgers Football vs. No. 1 Ohio State (10/24) |
| Schedule/Results | Rutgers | Maryland |
RU'S LAST TIME OUT
Rutgers remains in search of its first Big Ten win, after dropping matches to No. 23 Michigan and Michigan State on the road last week. The Scarlet Knights rallied from behind in its nationally televised match with the Wolverines, however, its comeback fell short as RU fell in four-sets by scores of 25-18, 25-12, 21-25 and 23-25. Despite an improvement in performance a match prior, RU went on to fall to the Spartans in three.
Continuing to lead the way, sophomore outside Meme Fletcher (Overland Park, Kan.) sits at fifth in the conference as she averages 3.85 kills per set. Fletcher also boasts 2.35 digs per stanza to rank third on the team. Junior right side Lauren Cloyd (Champaign, Ill.) follows with 2.35 kills per set, while also ranking first on the team with 52 blocks on the season. Senior setter Anna Sudbury (Tomahawk, Wisc.) remains consistent in assists, sitting at 12th in the Big Ten rankings with 8.72 assists per set.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
Maryland enters the week on an 11-match losing streak, also searching for a win in conference play. Most recently, UMD faced back-to-back midweek losses on the road at Michigan State and No. 23 Michigan. The Terps fell to the Spartans in a four-set match on Wednesday before being swept in three straight frames against the Wolverines on Thursday.
Adreene Elliott paces Maryland with 3.94 kills per set overall and 3.96 kills per set in league matchups, ranking 12th in the conference. Amy Dion ranks ninth in the league with a team-high 3.76 digs per stanza and 10th with 0.26 service aces per frame. On the defensive side, Ashlyn MacGregor leads the way with 75 blocks on the season, while Elliot holds a team-high 12 solo blocks. Head coach Steve Aird is in second year at the helm of the program.
SERIES VERSUS THE TERRAPINS
Rutgers leads Maryland, 13-7, in the all-time series, which began in 1978. In 2014, the squads met for the first time as conference foes, as both programs were newcomers in the Big Ten. Both matches proved to be an even matchup between the squads, resulting as two five-set thrillers. RU returns 10 players from last year's contests, while UMD returns nine to the court.
The first came on Oct. 21 and was broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. Rutgers claimed the first set 25-22, before Maryland took the next two by scores of 25-22 and 25-20. The Scarlet Knights bounced back to push the match into the deciding fifth set with a 25-20 win in the fourth, however, the Terps pulled out a 15-8 score to win the battle. Cloyd led RU in the contest with 13 kills, followed by Fletcher with 12.
Next up, the teams faced off four days later on Oct. 24, as a similar battle played out. Rutgers once again defeated Maryland in the first set (27-25), before the Terps took the following two (25-21, 25-19). RU stayed alive with a 25-21 win in the fourth set to bring the match to the fifth set for the second time. In the end, UMD took the fifth stanza, 15-9, to take home the victory in another exhilarating matchup. Cloyd once again paced RU with 17 kills, followed by Alex Lassa with 12.
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