NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Oct. 20, 2018) – Rutgers volleyball continued its momentum from Wednesday's fight at No. 4 Penn State into Saturday night's home match, getting edged in an energetic opening set before a straight-set loss to the Nittany Lions in a packed College Ave. Gym.
 
THE LINE
No. 4 Penn State (17-3, 8-2) 3, Rutgers (6-17, 0-10) 0 – 25-23, 25-14, 25-17
 
KNIGHT NOTES

• One match after scoring 58 points against Penn State, which was the most in the 25-point rally-scoring ere (2008), the Scarlet Knights followed up with 54 on Saturday. That mark also passed the previous best of 48 set at Penn State in 2015.
• In this match, Rutgers recorded its highest hitting percentage (.227) against the Nittany Lions over the last decade, moving past the .177 mark set in 2015.
• Senior outside hitter Sahbria McLetchie notched her 46^th double-digit kill match of her career.

STANDOUT STATS

• McLetchie's 11 kills led the Scarlet Knights attack as she hit .148 to go with eight digs on defense.
• Freshman outside hitter Tali Marmen rejoined the starting lineup and produced nine kills on a .348 swing clip with just one error on 23 total attacks. The Israeli native added a service ace and four digs.
• Sophomore right side Beka Kojadinovic added seven kills on efficient .400 hitting with two digs and a block.
• Junior libero Karysa Swackenberg paced Rutgers' defense for the 12^th time over the last 16 contests with nine digs on Saturday.

THE MOMENTS

• Set 1 | Rutgers seemingly carried over the energy from an exciting final set at Penn State on Wednesday into the opener on Saturday. The first set saw 10 ties and three lead changes, with Rutgers holding a lead at 15-14 on a Jasmine Stackhouse kill. The Scarlet Knights used a 4-0 run with Marmen getting her ace and a kill to force a pair of Penn State timeouts and take a late, 23-22 lead before the Nittany Lions rallied for the set's final three points.
• Set 2 | Stackhouse and McLetchie connected on a highlight-reel point early in the second as Stackhouse, the middle blocker, used her foot to dig up a Penn State attack before McLetchie bumped the ball over in a perfect place to register an improbable kill.
• Set 3 | Penn State led throughout, but Rutgers heated up near the end with a 4-2 spurt to bring the score within seven points at 24-17. Freshman middle Merle Weidt had a block and a kill before Marmen finished the run with a pair of kills.

UP NEXT
Rutgers remains home to host a Big Ten weekend, Friday, Oct. 26 against No. 17 Purdue and Saturday, Oct. 27 as host to Indiana at the College Ave. Gym. Both matches are slated to begin at 7 p.m. and are free of admission charge.
 

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