NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The Rutgers women's volleyball team closed out the 2019 campaign with its fifth-straight top 25 opponent and third-consecutive top 10 program with a 3-0 loss to No. 5 Wisconsin. The Badgers took the first two sets, 25-14 and 25-12, before Rutgers had a close third set battle for the second-straight night. The Scarlet Knights tied the third frame up at 21-21 before the Badgers went on to close out the match with a 25-21 set victory to capture at least a share of the Big Ten title.
 

STANDOUT STATS

• Senior middle Jasmine Stackhouse collected double digit kills with 10 and junior Kamila Cieslik recorded seven swings to lead the Scarlet Knight attack, while sophomore setter Inna Balyko captured 24 assists.
• Senior libero Karysa Swackenberg posted 13 digs with Stackhouse adding three blocks – one solo and a pair of block assists – to led the defense.

KEY MOMENTS

• Set 1 (14-25) | Jasmine Stackhouse posted four kills during the frame, but it was the Badgers out front early and holding the advantage throughout the set. The Badgers led 16-6 when RU outscored the visitors, 6-3, which included kills from the hands of Beka Kojadinovic and Tali Marmen. Wisconsin, however, maintained a comfortable margin to close out the set.
• Set 2 (12-25) | The Badgers hit .500 in the second set, but it was close early. A Marmen swing saw Rutgers trail 7-6, but Wisconsin countered with a 9-1 run to control the stanza.
• Set 3 (21-25) | Like Friday night against No. 8 Minnesota, the Scarlet Knights battled in a close third set. The Badgers worked up a 15-9 edge when RU went to work chipping away at the Badger advantage. Rutgers rattled off four-straight points to close the gap but committed a pair of errors to follow as Wisconsin held onto a 17-13 lead. Four different Scarlet Knights collected kills in a 6-3 run for RU to cut its deficit to one at 20-19. While a Molly Haggerty swing added cushion for the Badgers, Kamila Cieslik posted back-to-back kills to knot the score at 21-21. Wisconsin finished out the set with four-straight points for the win.   

KNIGHT NOTES

• Prior to the start of the match, Rutgers honored its three seniors – Stasa Miljevic, Jasmine Stackhouse & Karysa Swackenberg.

• The Badgers marked the tenth match and fifth-straight against a top 25 program and was facing its third-straight top ten opponent.
• Sophomore Inna Balyko closes out the season with 1,948 career assists in her two seasons at Rutgers to enter her junior year seventh on the all-time assist leaders list. In 2019, she posted 885 assists, which is sixth in the single season list.
• Senior Jasmine Stackhouse, who earlier this season became RU's all-time block assists leader, concluded her Rutgers career with 350 block assists. Her 374 total blocks over her four seasons lands her fourth all-time.
• Senior Karysa Swackenberg logged 1299 career digs to close out her career third all-time at Rutgers in the category.
• The Scarlet Knights conclude the season at 8-23 overall and 2-18 in the Big Ten.  

PHOTO GALLERY

 

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