Rutgers University
4-28, 1-19B1G
Ohio State
23-9, 12-8B1g
Volleyball Falls to No. 16 Ohio State in Season Finale
Nov 28 | Women's Volleyball
COLUMBUS, OHIO (Nov. 28, 2015) - Despite a resilient effort in set one of the match, the Rutgers women's volleyball team fell in three sets to No. 16 Ohio State (26-24, 25-7, 25-12) in its 2015 season finale on Saturday night at St. John Arena.
Rutgers concludes its campaign with an overall record of 4-28 and a conference mark of 1-19, while Ohio State ends the regular season at 23-9 overall and 12-8 in league action.
Senior defensive specialist Ronnie Komisarek (San Manteo, Calif.) highlighted the night with her 1,000th career dig, as the senior registered eight in the contest. Komisarek ranks eighth in program history with her 1,000 career digs.
Junior right side Lauren Cloyd (Champaign, Ill.) paced RU with nine kills in the match and a .368 hitting percentage, along with three total blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Meme Fletcher (Overland Park, Kan.) followed with six kills and a team-high 11 digs. Junior middle Mikaela Matthews (San Diego, Calif.) tied her season-best with a match-high seven total blocks, which included two solo blocks.
Ohio State's Elizabeth Campbell led all hitters in the contest with 14 kills, while Katie Mitchell notched 10 kills of her own. Valeria Leon posted a match-best 18 digs and five service aces in the win. Audra Appold posted three solo blocks to tie Tyler Richardson for the team-high with three total blocks each.
After dropping to an 11-5 deficit to start the first set, Rutgers never let up, pulling within two at 12-10 on a kill from Cloyd. The Scarlet Knights kept the margin as close as three, until the Buckeyes found a 19-13 advantage. After OSU extended its lead to 20-14, RU responded with a 9-3 run capped by a kill from Cloyd to tie up the count, 23-23. Although a kill from senior Megan Stephenson (Burbank, Calif.) would put Rutgers in the lead, 24-23, Ohio State used extra serves to tack on three straight points to halt the comeback and edge the Scarlet Knights, 26-24, in set one.
Rutgers struggled to maintain its momentum, falling to a 16-2 deficit at the start of set two. A kill from Cloyd ended the OSU run, but it was not enough to get the Scarlet Knights rolling as the Buckeyes held control to win the second set 25-7.
The Scarlet Knights trailed the Buckeyes, 6-3, at the start of set three. OSU extended that lead to 8-3, but RU regained its earlier resiliency to bring the deficit to 8-5 with a kill from senior setter Anna Sudbury (Tomahawk, Wisc.) followed by a block from Sudbury and Matthews. RU kept it as close as four, until OSU jumped to a 18-9 lead. The Buckeyes once again maintained control, closing the set with a 25-12 victory and 3-0 win in the match.
KNIGHT NOTES
- Rutgers has faced a ranked opponent in six of its last eight matches.
- Ronnie Komisarek hit 1,000 career digs, as the achievement is good enough for eighth place in the Rutgers' record books.
- Ali Schroeter concludes the season with 370 digs, ranking seventh on the single-season charts. Schroeter also owns first and second-place with 544 digs in 2013 and 468 digs in 2014.
- Schroeter brought her Rutgers' all-time digs record to 1,615.
- The Scarlet Knights led the Buckeyes, 9-8, in total team blocks. Mikaela Matthews led the match with a season-high seven blocks.
- Matthews owns 269 career blocks, ranking 11th in the Rutgers' career record books.
- Anna Sudbury set her career assists total at 1,716 to rank seventh on the career charts
- Alex Lassa set her career kills mark to 979, coming in at ninth in the program history.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding women's volleyball, follow the program on Twitter @RUvball.
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