NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Oct. 1, 2016) - Facing its second ranked foe of the weekend, the Rutgers women's volleyball team was defeated by No. 18 Michigan State in three sets on Saturday night at the College Ave Gym. The Spartans (13-3, 2-2 Big Ten) topped the Scarlet Knights (4-13, 0-4 Big Ten) by set scores of 25-14, 25-18 and 25-18.

RU was led by Jillian Duffin with seven kills followed by Meme Fletcher and Lauren Cloyd with five kills each. Mikaela Matthews added in three blocks, as RU tied MSU in team blocks, 4-4.

Autumn Bailey paced MSU with a match-high 12 kills, while Rachel Minarick added in 38 assists. Alyssa Gaverlink posted a team-best three blocks in the win.

Bouncing back from a slow start in the first set, Rutgers knotted the score 4-4 in the early serves. As the teams traded points, RU capitalized on back-to-back MSU miscues to move in front 8-7. Kills from Duffin and Cole Trimble helped the Scarlet Knights keep a 10-9 edge. The score would be tied six more times as the score remained knotted at 15-15. From there, the Spartans pulled away with a 9-1 run to move in front, 24-16. Although Rutgers would hold Michiagn State at set point with a kill for Duffin and a block by the duo of Matthews and Cloyd, it was not enough to keep MSU from taking a 2-0 edge in the match.

After falling behind 7-3 to start the third, Rutgers remained resilient with a 5-2 run to cut the deficit to one at 9-8. MSU regained a 14-10 lead, but not for long as RU rallied back to close the gap back to one at 14-13 on a kill by Matthews. However, that is as close as the Scarlet Knights would come as the Spartans went on to lead by as many as seven across the final serves.

UP NEXT
Rutgers continues a three-game homestand as the Scarlet Knights welcome No. 3 Wisconsin on Wednesday, Oct. 5. The match is set for a 7 p.m. start at the College Ave Gym.

KNIGHT NOTES

• Rutgers has competed in four consecutive matches against a ranked foe or opponent receiving votes, including Penn State (No. 18), Illinois (RV), Michigan (22) and Michigan State (18).

• RU tied MSU in team blocks, 4-4. The Scarlet Knights have either led or tied their opponent in blocks in 13 out of 17 contests this season.
• Jillian Duffin

• led the team in kills for the first time this season with seven kills in the game.

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