NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Nov. 15, 2017) – Rutgers volleyball fell in straight sets to No. 15 Purdue on Wednesday in the College Ave. Gym by scores of 25-19, 25-11, 25-18.
 
The Scarlet Knights (5-24, 0-17 B1G) held the nationally ranked Boilermakers (21-7, 11-6) to a .206 hitting percentage, Rutgers' best defensive effort in a Big Ten match this season. Purdue's defense was just a tad better on Wednesday, holding Rutgers to a .043 hitting clip while winning the battle at the net with eight blocks to RU's two.
 
Senior setter Talia Holze made her second straight start and passed out 21 assists to go with seven of Rutgers' 29 digs, while sophomore libero Karysa Swackenberg posted her highest dig total (13) since Nov. 1. Freshman outside hitter Yana Kamshilina paced the offense with nine kills on a .438 swing percentage (9-2-16), the rookie's best hitting mark in a Big Ten contest this season.
 
Set 1 | Purdue 25, Rutgers 19
Following Rutgers' match opening point, the two sides traded runs with Purdue's 7-0 spurt and RU's answer of four straight, highlighted by McLetchie's service ace. With the set tied at 8-8, Swackenberg already had five digs. Later, the Boilermakers used a 5-0 run and three service aces to close out the frame, despite a 3-0 stint from Rutgers down the stretch behind two kills from freshman outside hitter Yana Kamshilina and an ace from freshman right side Kamila Cieslik.
 
Set 2 | Purdue 25, Rutgers 11
An 8-1 run midway through the set helped Purdue to a 16-6 advantage. Kamshilina served up an ace to give Rutgers one of its two 2-point runs of the frame, and Purdue scored four of the final five points.
 
Set 3 | Purdue 25, Rutgers 18
Rutgers started the set with an all-international front row and two of them (Kamshilina and sophomore middle blocker Stasa Miljevic) picked up a kills while Miljevic and freshman right side Beka Kojadinovic combined on a block en route to a 3-0 lead. Purdue, however, responded with 12 straight and a 15-3 overall run.
 
Holze's dump kill and Kamshilina's eighth kill of the night paced a 3-0 run to bring RU within 17-10. Cieslik and Miljevic bounced kills, then combined on a block as part of a 4-0 run at the tail end of the match.
 
Cieslik finished with seven kills, and Miljevic led the team with two total blocks.
 
Up Next: Rutgers hosts its final home match of the year on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. against unanimous No. 1 Penn State. The Scarlet Knights will celebrate the careers of the two members of the Class of 2018 – Meme Fletcher and Talia Holze – on Senior Night.
 
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