Friday, November 9
Champaign, Ill.
8 PM
Rutgers University
at
No. 4 Illinois
Photo by: (Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)
Volleyball Wraps Road Schedule at No. 4 Illinois & Northwestern
Nov 08 | Women's Volleyball
Scarlet Knights take on fifth Top 10 opponent of the season at Illinois.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. & EVANSTON, Ill. (Nov. 8, 2018) - Rutgers volleyball plays its final two road matches of the season at No. 4 Illinois on Friday, Nov. 9 and at Northwestern on Saturday, Nov. 10, with both contests scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
The Illini are in the Top 5 in the AVCA National Coaches Poll for the first time since 2011, and also come in at No. 2 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings. The Wildcats have won three of their last four, and will host their first two games in the renovated Welsh-Ryan Arena this weekend.
FOLLOW LIVE
BTN2GO | Live Stats (Illinois) | Live Stats (Northwestern) | Twitter
HEAD-TO-HEAD
KNIGHT NOTES
• Rutgers volleyball made an appearance on ESPN's SportsCenter as the No. 10 entry in Top 10 Plays on Oct. 21. In the second set against No. 4 Penn State, Karysa Swackenberg came up with an incredible dig, which was heading hard and low to Jasmine Stackhouse, who kept it alive by kicking it up. Sahbria McLetchie hit it over with a backwards bump that landed in a perfect spot for the kill and point Rutgers.
• The Scarlet Knights are ranked 20th in the NCAA with 2.68 blocks per set through matches played on Nov. 5. They come in third in the Big Ten behind Big Ten leader Penn State's mark of 2.94. Rutgers has outblocked opponents in 16 of 26 matches.
• On Oct. 10, the Scarlet Knights produced their most efficient attacking effort ever in a Big Ten match in a setback to Iowa, who was receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll. In the match, RU hit .284 to surpass the team's previous mark of .276 from 2017 at Indiana.
• Rutgers has set four of the Top 10 single match hitting percentage performances over the last decade during the 2018 season ... .377 vs. Coppin State (4th), .372 vs. Howard (5th), .356 vs. Rider (6th) and .336 vs. Holy Cross (8th).
• Rutgers has set three school records early in the 2018 season. All records are from the 25-point rally-scoring era beginning in 2008.
• Rutgers - 14 service aces vs. Coppin State (Aug. 31)
• Inna Balyko - 47 assists in a three-set match vs. Howard (Sept. 7)
• Stasa Miljevic - 10 blocks in a four-set match vs. Navy (Sept. 8)
• Freshman setter Inna Balyko earned the program's first Big Ten weekly award with a Freshman of the Week honor for the period ending Sept. 2. At the Crosstown Tournament at Lehigh and Lafayette, the Russia native posted two double-doubles, averaging 10.21 assists and totaling 14 blocks while directing Rutgers' .271 attack percentage.
• Freshman outside hitter Tali Marmen joined the roster on Sept. 7 following a stint with the Israel National Team in the 2018 European Silver League. The 6-foot-2 hitter ranked ninth in the Euro League with 2.79 kills per set, and has also led her club team Maccabi XT Haifa to the 2018 Israeli National Championship. She has averaged 2.32 kills per set through her first 19 matches, and ranks second at RU with 2.19 kills/set in B1G play.
• Junior libero Karysa Swackenberg notched her third career 20-dig match at UConn on Sept. 14. She has led Rutgers in digging in 14 of the last 18 matches.
• Freshman middle Merle Weidt received the starting nod in place of Stasa Miljevic, who was lost for the season due to injury on Sept. 19. In the five-set match vs. Ohio State on Oct. 5, the rookie broke out with career-high marks of 15 kills, a .565 attack percentage and eight total blocks. She averages a block per set this season.
UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights begin a four-match homestand to finish the season against Michigan State on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in the College Ave. Gym.
The Illini are in the Top 5 in the AVCA National Coaches Poll for the first time since 2011, and also come in at No. 2 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings. The Wildcats have won three of their last four, and will host their first two games in the renovated Welsh-Ryan Arena this weekend.
FOLLOW LIVE
BTN2GO | Live Stats (Illinois) | Live Stats (Northwestern) | Twitter
HEAD-TO-HEAD
KNIGHT NOTES
• Rutgers volleyball made an appearance on ESPN's SportsCenter as the No. 10 entry in Top 10 Plays on Oct. 21. In the second set against No. 4 Penn State, Karysa Swackenberg came up with an incredible dig, which was heading hard and low to Jasmine Stackhouse, who kept it alive by kicking it up. Sahbria McLetchie hit it over with a backwards bump that landed in a perfect spot for the kill and point Rutgers.
• The Scarlet Knights are ranked 20th in the NCAA with 2.68 blocks per set through matches played on Nov. 5. They come in third in the Big Ten behind Big Ten leader Penn State's mark of 2.94. Rutgers has outblocked opponents in 16 of 26 matches.
• On Oct. 10, the Scarlet Knights produced their most efficient attacking effort ever in a Big Ten match in a setback to Iowa, who was receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll. In the match, RU hit .284 to surpass the team's previous mark of .276 from 2017 at Indiana.
• Rutgers has set four of the Top 10 single match hitting percentage performances over the last decade during the 2018 season ... .377 vs. Coppin State (4th), .372 vs. Howard (5th), .356 vs. Rider (6th) and .336 vs. Holy Cross (8th).
• Rutgers has set three school records early in the 2018 season. All records are from the 25-point rally-scoring era beginning in 2008.
• Rutgers - 14 service aces vs. Coppin State (Aug. 31)
• Inna Balyko - 47 assists in a three-set match vs. Howard (Sept. 7)
• Stasa Miljevic - 10 blocks in a four-set match vs. Navy (Sept. 8)
• Freshman setter Inna Balyko earned the program's first Big Ten weekly award with a Freshman of the Week honor for the period ending Sept. 2. At the Crosstown Tournament at Lehigh and Lafayette, the Russia native posted two double-doubles, averaging 10.21 assists and totaling 14 blocks while directing Rutgers' .271 attack percentage.
• Freshman outside hitter Tali Marmen joined the roster on Sept. 7 following a stint with the Israel National Team in the 2018 European Silver League. The 6-foot-2 hitter ranked ninth in the Euro League with 2.79 kills per set, and has also led her club team Maccabi XT Haifa to the 2018 Israeli National Championship. She has averaged 2.32 kills per set through her first 19 matches, and ranks second at RU with 2.19 kills/set in B1G play.
• Junior libero Karysa Swackenberg notched her third career 20-dig match at UConn on Sept. 14. She has led Rutgers in digging in 14 of the last 18 matches.
• Freshman middle Merle Weidt received the starting nod in place of Stasa Miljevic, who was lost for the season due to injury on Sept. 19. In the five-set match vs. Ohio State on Oct. 5, the rookie broke out with career-high marks of 15 kills, a .565 attack percentage and eight total blocks. She averages a block per set this season.
UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights begin a four-match homestand to finish the season against Michigan State on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in the College Ave. Gym.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's VolleyballJersey Mic'd with Skylar George
Wednesday, March 25
Rutgers Volleyball Vs Washington Highlights
Friday, November 28
Rutgers Volleyball vs. Oregon Highlights
Thursday, November 27
Rutgers Volleyball vs. Ohio State Highlights
Monday, November 24
