NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Nov. 6, 2015) -- With the College Ave. Gym at maximum capacity, the Rutgers volleyball team showed its resiliency despite falling the defending national champions and top-ranked Penn State on Friday night. The Nittany Lions took the win by set scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 25-12.
Rutgers dropped to an overall record of 4-21 and a Big Ten mark of 1-12, while Penn State improved to 23-2 overall and 12-2 in league action.
Sophomore outside hitter Meme Fletcher (Overland Park, Kansas) kept the Scarlet Knight offense in gear, registering a .360 hitting percentage with a match-high 15 digs. Senior setter Anna Sudbury (Tomahawk, Wisc.) contributed 34 assists in the match, while classmate Ali Schroeter (Bakersfield, Calif.) notched 10 digs.
Penn State was led by Aiyana Whitney with a team-high 12 kills, while Haleigh Washington notced a .636 hitting clip with seven kills and no errors. Ali Frantti also notched a .600 attack percentage with seven kills and only one error. The Big Ten Setter of the Week, Bryanna Weiskircher, led the match with 36 assists.
Although the Nittany Lions would jump to a commanding 5-0 lead, the Scarlet Knights never let up, pulling within three at 10-7 on a kill by senior middle blocker Eden Frazier (Irvine, Calif.). RU would not allow PSU to move in front by any more than four points, keeping the deficit as slim as two points at the 12-10 mark. A block by junior Lauren Cloyd (Champaign Ill.) and Frazer held the margin at 13-11, before Penn State was able to move to a 17-11 lead. Rutgers bounced back with a 5-3 run, capped by an ace from senior Ronnie Komisarek (San Manteo, Calif.) to cut the PSU edge to 19-16. Back-to-back kills from Whitney returned a 22-17 edge to PSU, as the Nittany Lions went on to claim the set 25-19.
Moving to set two, PSU took a 4-1 lead, but RU diminished its deficit, as Fletcher knocked down two kills in a row to pull the Scarlet Knights within one at 6-5. RU kept it close, but PSU eventually found a 13-7 advantage, before another kill from Fletcher stumped the run. The Nittany Lions would go on to lead by at most nine. Despite RU registering a 4-1 burst, guided by three kills from Fletcher, to bring the deficit to 22-16, it was not enough as PSU claimed the set 25-17.
With a 2-0 lead in the match, Penn State quickly gained control of the third set, cruising to a 10-2 lead. Rutgers struggled to get its offense rolling, while Penn State registered three consecutive blocks thanks to the teamwork of Aiyana Whitney, Ali Frantti and Byranna Weiskircher, setting the Nittany Lion edge at 15-5. Even though PSU found set point at 24-10, the resilient RU squad delivered four unanswered points, including a kill from junior Mikaela Matthews (San Diego, Calif.) and back-to-back blocks by the duo of Matthews and Sudbury, to keep the match alive. In the end, Nia Reed registered the final kill of the night for PSU, to give the Nittany Lions their eighth straight victory.
KNIGHT NOTES
- The College Ave. Gym was at its maximum capacity of over 1,500 for tonight's match, as Rutgers performed in front of the largest crowd at the Barn in at least the last eight seasons.
- Penn State marked the seventh ranked opponent Rutgers has crossed paths with this season.
- The top-ranked Nittany Lions marked the highest ranked opponent for the Scarlet Knights, since RU hosted No. 2 Wisconsin on Nov. 26, 2014.
- Meme Fletcher posted a match-high 15 kills to lead the team for the 18th match this campaign.
- Ali Schroeter extended her all-time career digs lead to 1532 with 10 digs in the contest.
- Ronnie Komisarek notched two service aces on the night, one shy of tying her season-high.
Rutgers returns to action tomorrow with a matchup against No. 12 Ohio State at the College Ave. Gym. First serve is set for 7 p.m. on BTN Plus.
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