COLLEGE PARK, Md. (Oct. 24, 2015) - The Rutgers volleyball team split its home and home matchups with Maryland this week, dropping Saturday night's rematch in College Park, Md., by a final score of 3-1. The Scarlet Knights claimed the first stanza, 25-23, before falling in the following three by scores of 25-23, 25-22 and 25-19.
Rutgers dropped to an overall record of 4-18 and a conference mark of 1-9, while Maryland improved to an overall mark 11-13 and an identical record of 1-9 in league action.
For the seventh time this season, sophomore outside hitter Meme Fletcher (Overland, Park) registered a double-double with a team-high in kills (14) and digs (14). Senior outside Megan Stephenson (Burbank, Calif.) and junior right side Lauren Cloyd (Champaign, Ill.) followed with eight kills each,while senior setter Anna Sudbury (Tomahawk, Wisc.) led the squad with 32 assists.
Defensively, senior Eden Frazier (Irvine, Calif.) tied her career-high for the second time this season with nine blocks, as RU led UMD, 17-12.5, in the category. Sudbury set a season-high for the second straight match with eight blocks.
Maryland was led by Adreene Elliott for the second time against Rutgers with a match-high 19 kills, while Liz Twilley added in 13 kills in the win. Whitney Craigo notched 39 assists, as Kelsey Wicinski posted 23 digs for the Terps.
Rutgers and Maryland fought through a back-and-forth battle throughout the first set, as the stanza was found tied on 11 occasions with five lead changes. Despite trailing 11-9, Rutgers rallied five uncontested points, highlighted by back-to-back service aces from seniors Ali Schroeter (Bakersfield, Calif.) and Ronnie Komisarek (San Manteo, Calif.), to take a 14-11 lead. The Terps managed to sneak in front 20-19, but a kill from Cloyd and another ace from Schroeter put the Scarlet Knights back in front for good. A kill from Fletcher gave RU a 25-23 win in set one.
Set two began similar to the first, until UMD took control with a 14-9 lead. Rutgers was able to pull within two on a 4-0 run, but it was not enough to stump Maryland. The Terps re-extended its lead to 20-16, however, the Scarlet Knights continued to inch closer on the board. RU diminished the margin to one point at 22-21. Although RU remained one point away from tying the count on two more occasions, UMD claimed the win, 25-23, in the second.
With the match tied 1-1 entering the third, the scoreboard remained even at the onset. It was Maryland who once again claimed the biggest edge on the board at 11-6. As RU kept the margin to at most three, the Scarlet Knights rallied to tie the score up at 18-18. A wire-to-wire battle ensued through the final serves, but the Terps won the fight with a 25-22 victory in the third, generating a 2-1 lead in the match.
In the fourth and final set Maryland jumped ahead to a 4-1 advantage, but Rutgers bounced back to tie it up 5-5, eventually moving ahead 10-7. It was a 7-1 run that put the Terps back in front at 15-11. Maryland would never relinquish the lead, taking the set 25-19 and the match.
KNIGHT NOTES
- Rutgers went 1-1 against Maryland with back-to-back matches with the Terps this week.
- RU posted a team season-high of 17 blocks in the match, leading Maryland in the category.
- Eden Frazier and Anna Sudbury remain a powerful duo at the front of the net, contributing nine and eight blocks, respectively. Frazier's mark tied her career-high for the second time this season. Sudbury set a new season-high for the second consecutive match, as her mark was four shy of her personal-best.
- Meme Fletcher registered a double-double for the second consecutive match, marking the seventh time she posted double-digits in both kills (14) and digs (14) this season.
- For Fletcher, it also marked the fourth straight match she has found her total in double-digits in the kills column.
Up next, Rutgers remains on the road with trips to Nebraska on Friday, Oct. 30 and Iowa on Saturday, Oct. 31.
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