NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.  – The Rutgers women's volleyball team snapped its Big Ten losing streak on Sunday in tightly contested five-set victory over Northwestern at the College Avenue Gym. The Scarlet Knights took the first two sets (27-25, 26-24) while the Wildcats tied the match with victories in sets three and four (25-16, 25-23) before RU prevailed in the fifth and deciding set (15-10).
 

STANDOUT STATS

• Four Scarlet Knights collected double figure kills led by sophomore outside hitter Tali Marmen with 14 and sophomore middle Merle Weidt with 13.
• Junior Beka Kojadinovic set a new career mark in digs with 16, surpassing her previous best of 15 set against Lehigh and Navy in 2018, and dropped in 12 kills.
• Sophomore outside hitter Anastasiia Maksimova added a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs.
• Sophomore setter Inna Balyko also collected a new career high in assists with 52, besting her previous mark of 49 against St. John's in 2018, and posted 11 digs.
• Senior libero Karysa Swackenberg also added 15 digs.

KEY MOMENTS

• Set 1 (27-25) | While the Wildcats scored the game's first point, Rutgers rattled off five-straight to take over and led by as many as eight, 20-12, before Northwestern made it a one-point set. Outscoring RU 9-1, the Wildcats tied the set at 22-22 but was never able to take the lead. Northwestern forced three more ties before a Merle Weidt kill and blocks by Jasmine Stackhouse and Beka Kojadinovic gave the Scarlet Knights the 1-0 edge in the match.
• Set 2 (26-24) | The Wildcats went in front 10-6 when Rutgers battled back for a 13-13 tie. The set was tied four more times and with the score knotted at 24-24, Stasa Miljevic came thru with the kill and Merle Weidt served up the ace for the win and a 2-0 edge in a Big Ten matchup for the first time since joining the league in 2014.
• Set 3 (16-25) | Northwestern stayed in front the entire set hitting .400 for the frame while the Scarlet Knights committed 10 errors.
• Set 4 (23-25) | A set that endured 14 ties, neither team led by more than two points. A Beka Kojadinovic kill gave RU a 22-21 edge, but Northwestern would close out the set with four-straight kills and a service ace from Lexi Pitsas for the set victory and tie the match up at 2-2.
• Set 5 (15-10) | Rutgers hit .467 in the deciding set and jumped out to a 7-2 lead. Northwestern fought back and a Wildcat service ace form Michelle Lee saw Northwestern trail 11-10. The Scarlet Knights, however, finished out the game taking four-straight points and getting the victory off blocks from Stasa Miljevic and Anastasiia Maksimova.

Victory for the Scarlet Knights! @RUvball comes out of the the 5-set match with a victory over Northwestern! pic.twitter.com/XxceP4JApy

— Rutgers On BTN (@RutgersOnBTN) October 27, 2019

KNIGHT NOTES

• Jasmine Stackhouse took over sole possession of the Rutgers all-time block assists record in the first set and now has totaled 336 in her four-year career "On The Banks".
• The Scarlet Knights registered its best hitting percentage against a Big Ten opponent this season at a .222 clip.
• RU captured double figure blocks for the second-straight contest with 11 against the Wildcats.
• With her 15 digs, Karysa Swackenberg  moved up to third all-time in career digs at Rutgers. She currently has 1,209 and needs 136 more to move into second place.
• The victory gave Rutgers its first Big Ten win since a 3-2 victory over Maryland on Oct. 21, 2015.

 

UP NEXT

The Rutgers women's volleyball team travels to No. 5 Nebraska on Friday, Nov. 1 and continues on to Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 2. Both matches start at 8 p.m. (ET).
 
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