Final Stats

NEW HAVEN, CONN. (Sept. 2, 2016) - The Rutgers women's volleyball team opened the Yale Invitational with a 3-1 victory over Iona on Friday afternoon. RU took the win by set scores of 25-22, 25-21, 22-25 and 25-18, extending its win streak to four consecutive matches.

Rutgers improved to an overall record of 4-1 on the season, while Iona dropped to 0-5 overall.

Junior outside hitter Meme Fletcher picked up her second double-double of the season to lead the team with 13 kills and 12 digs. Freshman middle blocker Jasmine Stackhouse posted a team-high six blocks, while senior Mikaela Matthews followed with five blocks of her own in the win.

Iona was led by Claire Archibald with a match-high 18 kills, while Kait Ferretti contributed 35 assists in the loss.

With set one's score balanced at 5-5, the Scarlet Knights found a 9-4 run to break away to a 14-9 lead. After the Gaels registered three straight points, RU countered with six straight of their own to set the margin at 20-12. Although Iona managed to inch back within two at 24-22, Rutgers took the win, 25-22, in set one.

Following a battle for points and the lead to start the second set, Iona was able to establish a 7-4 lead over RU. The Scarlet Knights allowed the margin to grow to no more than three, eventually tying the score 11-11 on a kill from freshman Megan Sharkey. The score would be balanced on five more occasions, however, RU used an Iona error followed by a senior Micaela Anderson kill to move in front, 17-16, and never looked back. The Scarlet Knights held off the Gaels to close the set with a 25-21 win and 2-0 advantage in the match.

Despite the Gaels generating a five-point edge to open set three, the Scarlet Knights held strong to bring the gap within two, 9-7. Iona extended its lead by as many as four, controlling a 22-18 lead late in the set. An Anderson kill followed by an ace for Sharkey cut the deficit to 22-20. However, the Gaels maintained control with a 25-22 win in set three, cutting RU's lead to 2-1 in the contest.

Set four opened as a point-for-point battle until the Scarlet Knights registered five straight to take an 8-5 edge. After RU pushed its advantage to 12-8, Iona rattled off three consecutive points to pull within one at 12-11. As the Scarlet Knights kept control of its lead, a powerful Matthews' kill got RU on a 4-0 run to create the largest margin at that point of the set, 18-13. The teams would again trade points across the final serves, but Rutgers never relinquished its control to win the set 25-18 and the match.

UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights return to action on Saturday for day two of the Yale Invitational. RU opens the day with a match against Albany at 12:30 p.m. followed by Yale at 7 p.m.

KNIGHT NOTES

• Rutgers extended its win streak to four straight matches.
• The Scarlet Knights improved to 2-0 in its series versus Iona.
• Meme Fletcher picked up her second double of the season, leading the team in kills for the fifth straight match with 13 kills to go with 12 digs in the win.
• Jasmine Stackhouse has recorded at least three blocks in the last four matches, totaling six blocks in the win over Iona.

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