Final Stats

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - Following the Thanksgiving holiday, the Rutgers women's volleyball team dropped its second meeting of the season with Illinois in three sets on Friday at the College Ave Gym. The Fighting Illini (17-13, 10-9 Big Ten) topped the Scarlet Knights (4-28, 0-19 Big Ten) by scores of 25-11, 25-12, and 25-17.

Senior Lauren Cloyd led Rutgers with 11 kills, marking the sixth time in the last seven games the right side has paced the team. Freshman setter Megan Sharkey posted 20 assists in the match.

Illinois was led by Jaqueline Quade with 11 kills to go with a .474 hitting percentage. Ali Bastianelli posted four aces and five blocks in the win.

The Fighting Illini quickly took hold of the first set to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The Scarlet Knights recovered in the second set as a Jillian Duffin kill followed by an Illinois error brought Rutgers within one at 6-5. RU kept it close as a kill for Jasmine Stackhouse held the deficit at 8-7. From there, the Scarlet Knights would allow the lead to grow to no more than three. However, with RU trailing 13-10, UI found a groove to run away with the set for a 2-0 edge in the match.

Rutgers opened the third set with a 3-1 advantage before Illinois tied it up 4-4. Although the Fighting Illini reclaimed a lead, the Scarlet Knights kept the margin within three at 9-6. A 6-2 run for Illinois followed to extend its advantage to 15-8 its largest gap at that point of the set. Rutgers countered with a 5-2 run of its own to pull back within four at 17-13. However, the RU rally fell short as that was as close as the Scarlet Knights would come.

UP NEXT
Rutgers concludes the season with Senior Knight on Saturday, Nov. 26 against Northwestern. First serve is set for 7 pm at the College Ave Gym. The Scarlet Knights' three graduating seniors - Lauren Cloyd, Cole Trimble, and Mikaela Matthews - will be honored in a pre-match ceremony.

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