Volleyball Opens at East Carolina Invitational

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Aug. 24, 2017) - Rutgers volleyball begins the 2017 season on the road at the East Carolina University Invitational with a trio of games against Georgia State, William & Mary, and the host Pirates.

SCOUTING GEORGIA STATE
• The Panthers finished the 2016 campaign with a 10-18 overall record and a 6-11 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. Georgia State qualified for the Sun Belt Championships, exiting in the first round against top-seeded and eventual runner-up Arkansas State in straight sets.
• Georgia State welcomes in seven freshman to an already young seventeen-player roster. Four of the nine veteran Panthers are sophomores, and the other five returning letter winners are all juniors. Carley Eiken, a junior transfer student from Armstrong State, also joins GSU this season.
• The Panthers return nine letter-winners from the 2016 team, including juniors Anna Rantala and Sarah Renner, as well as sophomore Celeste Friesen, each of whom saw action in all twenty-eight GSU matches last season. Also returning is junior Crystal Lee, who enters the season with 275 career kills.

SCOUTING WILLIAM & MARY
• W&M compiled an 8-21 record last fall with a 2-14 grade in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Tribe won its host tournament, the Colonial Classic, with a perfect 3-0 record from Sept. 9-10 in Williamsburg, Va.
• Headlining the group of returners are seniors Sidney Biniak and Sara Zumbach. Biniak experienced a breakout year in 2016 as she earned All-CAA third team honors and VaSID All-State second team distinctions. Zumbach also received All-State accolades and became the fastest player in program history to surpass 1,000 career digs, while ranking second in W&M's single-season record books behind 4.52 digs per set.
• The 2017 recruiting class will added a trio of middle blockers (Julia Brown, Denisha Shaw, Taylor Heishman), a duo of outside hitters (Kate Dedrick, Lauren Moussaid) and a defensive specialist (Katie Turner).

SCOUTING EAST CAROLINA
• The Pirates are coming off their best campaign in a decade with a 15-15 run through 2016, included the best start in program history at 10-0.
• Senior middle hitter Natalie Montini is a sparkplug in the lineup who averaged 2.25 kills and 0.95 blocks per set as a junior while classmate and defensive specialist Alex Jessett was a key asset to the back row in 2016. Sophomore Brandee Markwith stepped into the every day libero role her rookie season and ended up finishing seventh in American with an average of 4.15 digs per set while racking up the sixth-most digs in a single-season in program history (448).
• Freshman OH Stephie Andruskova competed for VKP Bratislava – the most successful volleyball club in Slovakia with 11 national championships since 1993. Another bright prospect on the right side is freshman Bri Wood, who earned honorable mention All-America honors by prepvolleyball.com.

B1G CHALLENGE
When the Scarlet Knights enter Big Ten play at the end of September, a gauntlet of nationally ranked talent awaits. The preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 rankings include eight programs from the Big Ten, including four in the Top 10.

Ranked programs include No. 4 Minnesota (with two first place votes), No. 5 Nebraska, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 16 Michigan, No. 17 Michigan State, No. 21 Ohio State and No. 25 Purdue. Rutgers will host Nebraska, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue and Penn State this season in the College Ave. Gym.

Entering the season, Rutgers' slate includes a total of seven NCAA qualifiers from one year ago. This season marks the first time in two years Rutgers will not host the reigning national champion. College Ave. Gym hosted 2015 champs Penn State and 2016 champs Nebraska.

KNIGHTED
Head coach CJ Werneke and the Scarlet Knights have selected senior setter Talia Holze and sophomore libero Karysa Swackenberg as captains of the 2017 squad. Holze is now a two-time captain.

Werneke on Holze: "Talia is well organized and has that parental mindset and maturity. She keeps the team focused logistically. She is a great communicator between the coaching staff and the players, and sees the perspective from both sides. Her strengths are having the experience of knowing what to expect from Big Ten play, the travel demands and what to expect."

Werneke on Swackenberg: "She's pushing herself to be the best she can be and holds others responsible to that same standard. We don't look at age when choosing captains, we just look at leadership ability. Karysa is a commander on the court and directs traffic against some of the best teams in the nation. She has earned the respect from her teammates and coaches."

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Seven Scarlet Knights were named Fall 2016 Academic All-Big Ten, including returners Brooke Enners, Meme Fletcher and Talia Holze. Additionally, four were named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars, including Holze and Enners.

To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, student-athletes must be letterwinners who are in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. Similar to the Academic All-Big Ten honor, Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution. However, the Distinguished Scholar Award encompasses only students with a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year, excluding summer school.

Enners highlights the list by becoming one of 14 Scarlet Knights during the 2016-17 academic year to earn a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.

APR PERFECTION
The Rutgers volleyball team posted a perfect 1000 Academic Progress Rate (APR) for the fourth straight season in 2015-16, increasing the Scarlet Knights' multi-year score to 1000 for the first time in program history. The multi-year score ranks in the 100th percentile across all sports and NCAA Division I volleyball.

The report is based on NCAA Division I APR data submitted by the institution for the 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years. The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams nationally. The APR measures eligibility, graduation and retention each term and provides a clear picture of the academic performance for each team in every sport.

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

HAVE WE MET BEFORE?
The Scarlet Knights will add six new programs to their all-time opponent list as they cross paths with Georgia State, Middle Tennessee State, Missouri-Kansas City, Northern Iowa, South Dakota and William & Mary for the first time this season.

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.

IN THE COMMUNITY
Rutgers volleyball took a break from its grueling preseason schedule to give back to the community on Aug. 14 at the United Way of Central Jersey 'Stuff the Bus' event at the Milltown Target.

The 'Stuff the Event' initiative was launched by the United Way as a means to collect and deliver school supplies to needy children in the surrounding communities of Middlesex County and Franklin Township.

The Scarlet Knights set up shop in the parking lot with a travel net and volleyballs, conducting a skills clinic for the children in attendance. The event also featured sand art and face painting, which some of the Knights gladly took part in. As reward for the hard work on the court, the kids received volleyballs autographed by the Rutgers team.

RU ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
In addition to ScarletKnights.com, be sure to follow Rutgers volleyball on social media to receive the latest news and timely updates from the squad. The Scarlet Knights can be found on Twitter and Instagram @RUvball.

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Players Mentioned

Brooke Enners

Meme Fletcher

Talia Holze

Karysa Swackenberg

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