Volleyball Sweeps Siena in Home Opener

Wednesday, August 30

New Brunswick, N.J.

7 PM

Rutgers University

3-1

Siena

0-4

Siena

Rutgers

Aug 30 | Women's Volleyball

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Victory in Set 3 is program’s most lopsided in 25-point rally scoring era

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Aug. 30, 2017) – Rutgers volleyball topped Siena in straight sets, and in historic fashion on Wednesday evening in College Ave. Gym for its 2017 home opener. With a 25-6 victory in the closing stanza, the Scarlet Knights posted the most lopsided victory in a set since 25-point rally scoring began in 2008.

RU wins its third straight match to improve to 3-1 overall, while the Saints drop to 0-4 to start the season.

Junior outside hitter Sahbria McLetchie and freshman opposite hitter Kamila Cieslik led the attack with nine kills apiece, while sophomore setter Megan Sharkey passed out 24 assists with three services and a career-high four total blocks. The squad hit .286 as a team, a season-high, due in large part to a .682 clip in Set 3 with 16 kills and one error on 22 attempts.

Set 1 (Rutgers 25, Siena 18)
An early 4-0 run gave Rutgers a 5-2 lead, which was quickly erased by a Siena 4-1 spurt to tie the game at 6-6. The Scarlet Knights used separate 5-0 and 7-0 runs to take control. Sophomore libero Karysa Swackenberg led the defense with five digs in the set, while sophomore middle blocker Stasa Miljevic and Cieslik each served up two aces.

Set 2 (Rutgers 25, Siena 20)
The Saints took it to Rutgers early in the set with a 5-1 start, forcing a methodical Rutgers comeback. RU eventually knotted the score at 12-12 on a Cieslik kill, prompting a back-and-forth affair en route to a 17-15 Siena lead. From there, Sharkey served three aces and Cieslik capped a 6-0 run as Rutgers took a 21-17 lead in the crucial moments of the match. Sophomore middle Jasmine Stackhouse and Cieslik combined on a block to clinch the set.

Set 3 (Rutgers 25, Siena 6)
McLetchie, senior outside hitter Meme Fletcher and Miljevic all hit a perfect 1.000 in the historic set win. McLetchie was 5-for-5, McLetchie was 4-for-4 and Miljevic converted both of her attempts, all with zero errors. Passing was crisp, errors were rare and separate runs of 7-0 and 8-0 quickly had Rutgers in control before closing out the set, and match, with the final five points. McLetchie had two kills on that final run, including the match-clincher.

RVision Recap

Match Notes

Rutgers improves to 3-0 against Siena all-time.
Fletcher finished with eight kills, two aces, two digs and block.
The Scarlet Knights held preseason All-MAAC Team selection Sam Pethokoukis to one kill and one block.
Swackenberg led the defense with a season-high 13 digs, followed by McLetchie's eight – also a season-high.
Rutgers recorded a season-high nine team blocks, sparked by Stackhouse' s five block assists and four each from Miljevic and Sharkey.

Up Next
Rutgers heads back out on the road for the Seton Hall Classic on Saturday, Sept. 2. The Scarlet Knights take on Buffalo at 11 a.m. before facing the host Pirates at 7:30 p.m.