NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Sept. 25, 2015) - Despite a valiant effort on the court, the Rutgers women's volleyball team dropped its Big Ten opener to Northwestern on Friday night at the College Ave. Gym. The Scarlet Knights were topped by the Wildcats by scores of 25-23, 25-15 and 25-20.
Rutgers dropped to an overall mark of 3-10 and a conference record of 0-1, while Northwestern improved to 9-3 overall and 1-0 in conference action.
The Scarlet Knights were led by juniors Lauren Cloyd (Champaign, Ill.) and Cole Trimble (Orlando, Fla.). Senior setter Anna Sudbury (Tomahawk, Wisc.) put up 25 assists to lead the team.
The Wildcats were paced by Maddie Slater with a match-high 11 kills, while Taylor Tashima added in a team-best 32 assists in the win.
Although RU trailed NU, 9-4, to open set one, the Scarlet Knights rallied with a 10-3 run to move in front, 14-12. Rutgers maintained the edge, until Northwestern balanced the score at 16-16. RU held a strong front, re-establishing an 18-16 lead. The score would be tied on six more occasions before NU pulled away with a bare 25-23 win in the first set.
Northwestern held a steady lead to open set two until Rutgers evened the score at 8-8 on a kill from senior Eden Frazier (Irvine, Calif.). Despite balancing the score, NU continued to expand its lead, jumping to a drastic 20-13 lead. Ultimately, the Wildcats took the set 25-15.
The relentless Scarlet Knights would go on to keep the score of set three even from the onset. As a point-for-point battle ensued, RU and NU would see the score tied on 13 occasions with seven lead changes throughout. In the end, Northwestern found that slight edge over Rutgers finish the match with a final set win of 25-20.
RUTGERS NOTES
- Schroeter extended her career digs total to 1,398, as she continues to cement her spot at first-place in the Rutgers record books.
- Alex Lassa added in three kills on the night, bringing her career total to 961 and moving into ninth in the career record books.
Rutgers returns to action on Saturday night, hosting No. 9 Illinois at the Barn. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
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.
-RU-
