Volleyball Vies for 1st B1G Win at Indiana on BTN Friday Before Trip to No. 17 Purdue

Friday, October 20

Bloomington, Ind.

6 PM

Rutgers University

Indiana

Volleyball Vies for 1st B1G Win at Indiana on BTN Friday Before Trip to No. 17 Purdue

Oct 19 | Women's Volleyball

Match Notes

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Oct. 19, 2017) – The Scarlet Knights hit the road for a Big Ten weekend in Indiana with a nationally televised match at Indiana University on Friday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m., followed by a trip to nationally ranked No. 17 Purdue on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.

The Indiana match will see one team pick up their first Big Ten victory of the season, as both teams are heading into Friday with an 0-8 conference mark. Big Ten Network will broadcast the match with Dean Linke on the play-by-play and Beth Karpiak providing color commentary.

THE SLATE
Friday, Oct. 20 \| 6 p.m.	Saturday, Oct. 21 \| 7 p.m.
Indiana (11-9, 0-8)	No. 17 Purdue (15-4, 5-3)
Live Stats	Live Stats
Live Video	Live Video
Twitter	Twitter
TV: Big Ten Network

KNIGHT NOTES
• Rutgers started Big Ten play 0-8 overall and 0-6 at home with losses to Michigan and No. 10 Michigan State last weekend. RU picked up its first set win of the season - and first Big Ten set win at home since 2015 - in the 3-1 setback to Michigan. Michigan State won in straight sets on Saturday despite a season-high hitting percentage for Rutgers in Big Ten play.

• Freshman opposite hitter Kamila Cieslik posts a team-leading 2.85 kills/set. Cieslik was named to three All-Tournament Teams this preseason, including an MVP performance at the ECU Invitational. She made the Seton Hall Classic All-Tourrnament Team with 3.67 kills/set on a .424 hitting percentage, four service aces, 14 digs and eight blocks. She was also named to the Kangaroo Klassic All-Tournament Team with 21 kills, seven blocks and 18 digs. She served up at least one ace per match over that stretch with four total.

• Junior Sahbria McLetchie is Rutgers' top outside hitter with 2.67 kills/set, including a team-best 2.52 through eight conference matches. In back-to-back matches against Buffalo and Seton Hall, she recorded 17 and 19 kills, respectively, before picking up a total of 18 against Michigan and Michigan State last weekend.

• Sophomore setter Megan Sharkey is approaching another milestone after surpassing 1,000 career assists at Ohio State. Now with 1,068 career assists, she is 14 away from cracking the Top 10 in all-time career assists in program history.

• Sophomore Jasmine Stackhouse leads the Scarlet Knights at the net defensively with 0.92 blocks/set, pacing a team that has outblocked opponents nine times this season. Rutgers is 4-5 in those contests.

• The service line will continue to loom important for Rutgers, who ranks sixth in the Big Ten with 1.39 overall service aces per set. Cieslik leads the team in the department with 29 aces, which ranks second overall in the conference, and has at least one ace in 16 of her last 17 matches. She ranks 36th nationally with 0.43 aces/set. Rutgers is 5-1 when out-acing an opponents and 0-13 when it does not.

• Sophomore middle blocker Stasa Miljevic, a transfer from Florida State, has at least five kills in 10 matches this season, and combined for 18 against Michigan and Michigan State last weekend. Miljevic boasts a team-best .257 attack percentage, while also contributing to a team-high total of 60 blocks. The sophomore hit .429 last weekend against Michigan and Michigan State, bouncing 18 kills with three errors on 35 total swings.

• Sophomore libero Karysa Swackenberg has a team-high 2.79 digs/set and has paced her team in the dig department in 11 matches this season. Against Michigan last Friday, she produced a season-high for RU in Big Ten games with 15 digs in the four-setter at College Ave. Gym.

SERIES AT A GLANCE
• Indiana holds an 8-0 record over Rutgers in the all-time series dating back to 1980. The Hoosiers are 6-0 against the Scarlet Knights since RU joined the Big Ten in 2014, adding straight-set non-conference wins in 2013 and 2000. Rutgers has taken at least one set off Indiana in each of the last two years, but the Hoosiers have outscored Rutgers 12-2 in sets over that span.

• Purdue is 7-0 against Rutgers in the all-time series dating back to 1982, and 5-0 as opponents in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers are up 15-1 in sets since 2014, and took last year's lone match 3-0 in Indiana.

COACHES
• Indiana is guided by Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan in her 11th season, highlighted by 275 wins and an NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2010.

• Purdue is helmed by 15th-year head coach Dave Shondell, who has led the Boilermakers to 11 NCAA Tournament berths, seven Sweet Sixteens, and two Elite Eight appearances. He was named the Big Ten and Mideast Region Coach of the Year in 2011.

SCOUTING INDIANA (11-9, 0-8 Big Ten)
• The Hoosiers are seeking their first Big Ten win after dropping eight straight to start their conference slate, following an 11-1 run through non-conference competition.

• Despite the winless conference record, Indiana ranks second in the Big Ten in team assists (118), team kills (978) and team service aces (113). They rank 30th in the nation in service aces per set at 1.57.

• Victoria Brisack has proven to be one of the top setters in a conference that is loaded at the position. The sophomore ranks first in the Big Ten with 808 assists this season, while ranking fifth in per set average at 11.22. Brisack adds 40 kills on a .320 attack percentage, a team-high 22 aces, 2.02 digs/set and 27 total blocks out of the setter position.

• Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Kendall Beerman leads the hitting corps with 3.57 kills/set to go with 16 aces, 2.63 digs/set and 17 total blocks.

SCOUTING #17 PURDUE (15-4, 5-3 Big Ten)
• The Boilermakers went 10-1 in non-conference play before accumulating five wins in the Big Ten, helping Purdue hold onto an AVCA Top 25 ranking throughout the 2017 season.

• Purdue does their damage on attack with efficiency, hitting at a .327 clip to rank fourth in the country and second in the Big Ten behind national leader and No. 1 Penn St. The Boilermakers rank 12th nationally with 14.49 kills/set.

• Redshirt senior setter Ashley Evans is at the center of that offense with 11.6 assists/set, good for 10th in the nation and second in the Big Ten.

• Senior outside hitter Danielle Cuttino paces the attack with the nation's 29th best kills/set mark at 4.23, which also comes in at second in the B1G.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Senior setter Talia Holze and redshirt senior Brooke Enners were inducted into the Delta Chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma Society, the first national scholar-athlete society to honor collegiate student-athletes who have excelled in both the classroom and in athletic competition. They recognized for their achievements during halftime of the Rutgers football game against Ohio State on Saturday, September 30 in an on-field ceremony.

To earn induction into the honor society, a student-athlete must attend a four-year accredited college or university that is an NCAA or NAIA member, achieve junior status, hold a minimum 3.4 GPA, have an endorsement from their head coach and be of good moral character. Both Holze and Enners were also members of the Fall 2016 Academic All-Big Ten Team and Big Ten Distinguished Scholars for earning GPA's over 3.7. Enners completed the 2016-17 academic year with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.

FLOORED
Rutgers volleyball debuted its brand new Taraflex playing surface at the College Ave. Gym upon the opening of 2017 Big Ten play against Iowa on Sept. 22, 2017.

With the floor's installation, the Scarlet Knights become one of just 26 NCAA Division I programs to utilize Gerflor USA's Taraflex floor, the exact surface used at the last 11 Summer Olympic Games. The portable Taraflex floor at Rutgers, featuring RU's signature colors, fonts and logos, is the only one of its kind among collegiate programs in the Northeast region and one of just nine to be used by a Power 5 institution across the nation.

B1G CHALLENGE
With Big Ten play in full swing, a gauntlet of nationally ranked talent awaits. The preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 rankings included eight programs from the Big Ten, including four in the Top 10.

Current ranked programs include No. 1 Penn State, No. 5 Minnesota, No. 7 Nebraska, No. 9 Wisconsin, No. 10 Michigan State and No. 17 Purdue. Rutgers hosts Nebraska, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue and Penn State - all of which were ranked in the Preseason Top 25 - this season in the College Ave. Gym.

NATIONAL EXPOSURE
Rutgers appears twice on national television this season. Tune into the Big Ten Network on Friday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. for the trip to Indiana.

AROUND THE WORLD
The Scarlet Knights' roster represents nine states, including California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, Tennessee and Texas. California and Texas lead the way with two roster entries apiece. RU also has international representation with a total of five players from Israel, Puerto Rico, Serbia or Russia.

Follow Rutgers Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram (@RUvball) for all of the latest news and updates. The team is also on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersVolleyball). For all Rutgers Athletics news follow us on Twitter(@RUAthletics), Instagram (@RUAthletics), Snapchat (@RUAthletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics).

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