NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Sept. 8, 2018) – Rutgers volleyball downed Navy in four sets to finish runner-up in its Rutgers Invitational on Saturday in the College Ave. Gym, receiving another record-breaking performance in the process.
 
Junior middle Stasa Miljevic totaled a career-high 10 blocks in the victory, which sets a new program record for stuffs in a four-set match.
 
Tulane claimed the Rutgers Invitational title with a 2-1 record and a +5 set differential. Rutgers and Navy also finished 2-1 with respective +2 and +1 differentials. Howard finished in fourth with an 0-3 mark.
 
Junior middle Jasmine Stackhouse was named to the Rutgers Invitational All-Tournament Team with 26 kills on a .426 hitting percentage and 14 blocks. She accounted for 33 points during the weekend, ranking second on the team.
 
THE LINE
Rutgers (5-5) 3, Navy (6-4) 1 – (27-29, 25-15, 25-21, 25-20)
 
KNIGHT NOTES

• Miljevic surpassed the block record of Eden Frazier, who had nine blocks in three separate four-set matches in 2015.
• Rutgers out-blocked its opponent in nine of 10 matches this season (15-6 vs. Navy), improving to 5-4 in those matches.
• The Scarlet Knights improve to 7-2 in the all-time series, which was last played in 2000.
• For the first time this season, RU won a match after losing the first set (1-5).

QUOTABLE
Head coach CJ Werneke on the team's progress
"We're learning more about ourselves each match. We're identifying our roles and we're getting closer. I'm happy with how we responded, physically and mentally, after the loss to Tulane and how poorly we played. That really shows our growth and progress this year. We're better now than we were last week, and we'll be a better team in a month. It's about keeping our focus on the moment."
 
Werneke on Jasmine Stackhouse
"She was efficient and consistent. She established her presence in the middle and that helped all of our other hitters be better. She's doing her job and everyone benefitted from it this weekend."
 
STANDOUT STATS

• Senior outside hitter Sahbria McLetchie led all hitters with 11 kills, chipping in 5 blocks on defense.
• Sophomore right side Beka Kojadinovic matched a career-high with 15 digs and added nine kills and five blocks.
• Freshman Inna Balyko, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, passed out 38 assists for an 11.50 per set average on the tournament.
• Junior libero Karysa Swackenberg had a team-high 16 digs, upping her season per set average to 3.06.
• In her second career match, freshman outside hitter Tali Marmen racked up nine kills with two aces and seven digs.

THE MOMENTS

• Set 1 | Rutgers' early 6-0 run was answered by Navy's 7-0 spurt. A crucial challenge at 17-17 went in Navy's favor as the score remained tight down the stretch. Navy saved set point at 24-23, then Rutgers saved three set points with Miljevic getting a kill and a block assist in crunch time. The Mids, however, put it away following a 27-27 tie with a kill and a Scarlet Knight miscue.
• Set 2 | Rutgers led wire-to-wire in the second after a 4-0 start and building to a 7-1 early advantage with Miljevic leading the way with another kill-block combo. Kojadinovic took over with four kills on the attack to hold the lead throughout as RU hit .310 during the set.
• Set 3 | Stackhouse put up two early blocks during a 4-0 run to set the tone. Navy made a push back with a 5-0 run to get within two at 17-15 before Kojadinovic halted the momentum with a kill and McLetchie's back-to-back attacks put RU up 20-17.
• Set 4 | Marmen sparked another early lead with a heads up push kill to the corner for the 8-3 advantage, which followed another Marmen kill. Miljevic proceeded with a service ace and Rutgers never relinquished the lead. Navy got within one at 17-16 before Marmen took over with a kill and an ace on consecutive plays.

UP NEXT
Rutgers enters its final tournament of the season on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 14-15 at UConn's Dog Pound Challenge, where St. Johns, Holy Cross and the host Huskies await.
 
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