NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Sept. 19, 2015) - Concluding its first weekend at home, the Rutgers volleyball team suffered a four-set loss to Duquesne on Saturday afternoon as part of the Rutgers Invitational.
Princeton finished the Rutgers Invitational undefeated with a mark of 3-0, while Rutgers, Howard and Duquesne finished with a record of 1-2.
In today's match, the Scarlet Knights were led by seniors Eden Frazier (Irvine, Calif.) and Alex Lassa (Eagle, Colo.) with 12 kills apiece. Lassa finished the match hitting a .346 clip. Sophomore setter Talia Holze (Wheaton, Ill.) paced the squad with a career-high 38 assists.
Madelynn Burnham and Lacy Levers each posted a match-high 17 kills to lead the Dukes, while Mary Henry added a match-best of her own with 46 assists
Rutgers got off to a slow start in the match, trailing 7-3 to open the first set. A strong kill from Frazier brought the Scarlet Knights deficit to 13-8. Although Duquesne would hold control to find its set point at 24-16, Rutgers remained resilient with four unanswered points to bring the score to 24-20. In the end, it was not enough to hold off the Dukes, as Duquesne took a 25-20 win in set one.
Duquesne once again generated an advantage to start set two, but Rutgers would not back down. After a kill from junior middle Lauren Cloyd (Champaign, Ill.), senior Ronnie Komisarek (San Manteo, Calif.) delivered a service ace to tie the score at 8-8. The Scarlet Knights used the momentum to move in front on the scoreboard, 13-10. Rutgers held its edge throughout the stanza, moving to a 20-18 lead. The Dukes would go on to tie the set at 20-20, igniting a point for point battle. While the teams went wire-to-wire on the final serves, the Scarlet Knights held strong to take a 28-26 victory in set two, tying the match at 1-1.
Although the teams continued to trade points, Duquesne was able to break away with a 10-6 lead. The Dukes had controlled their edge until a block from senior outside Alex Lassa (Eagle, Colo.) and Cloyd brought the Scarlet Knights' deficit within two at 12-10. Despite the burst for Rutgers, Duquesne maintained its advantage to close set three with a 25-19 win. Moving into the fourth set, the score remained balanced from the onset until the Dukes found a 16-8 advantage on a seven point run. Rutgers kept up its fight, but it was not enough to top Duquesne, as the Dukes closed the final set with a score of 25-16.
RUTGERS NOTES
- Rutgers concluded its non-conference schedule with a record of 3-9.
- Lauren Cloyd led the Scarlet Knights over the weekend, averaging 2.282 kills per set with a total of 31 kills.
- Talia Holze notched a career-high 38 assists in her first start of the season.
- Alex Lassa brought her career kills total to 958 as she nears her 1000th career kill.
Up next, Rutgers remains home to open Big Ten play as host to Northwestern and No. 6 Illinois. The Scarlet Knights face the Wildcats on Friday, Sept. 25 and take on the Fighting Illini on Saturday, Sept. 26. Both matches are set for a 7 p.m. start.
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