WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 19, 2019) - Rutgers volleyball rides a six-match winning streak into a pair of road matches at American (Fri., 7 p.m.) and Howard (Sat., 2 p.m.) to conclude non-conference play for the 2019 season.
- One year after a 20-win season and a runner-up finish in the Patriot League Tournament, American is off to a 5-5 start this fall. The Eagles beat Duke in straight sets at the Blue Devils' invitational last weekend before a couple of four-set losses to Georgia and Northwestern. Despite the .500 record, American has more than two kills per sets more than its 10 opponents this season, and have posted 72 aces compared to opponents' 45.
- Howard is the four-time defending MEAC Tournament champion, but is off to a 2-7 start. The Bison have dropped its last five matches, with four of those decided in straight sets. The Scarlet Knights swept the Bison last season at the Rutgers Invitational behind a wildly efficient .372 attack percentage. Anastasiia Maksimova and Beka Kojadinovic posted double-digit kill figures with 12 and 11, respectively, while Inna Balyko set a program record with 47 assists in a three-set match.
• Rutgers volleyball has won two tournaments in a row, six straight matches and 12 consecutive sets for its longest winning streak since 2012, when the program won 12 straight matches for a 14-1 start to the season.
• The Scarlet Knights are once again nationally ranked in blocking - coming in at sixth place this week with 3.03 per set. RU set a program record for blocks in a season in 2018 with 300 total and 2.63 per set. Rutgers ended the season ranked 27th in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten in blocking last season.
• Senior libero
Karysa Swackenberg was named the Big Ten Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week for her performance during the period ending Sept. 8. The honor is the first of its kind for Rutgers since joining the conference in 2014.
• Swackenbeg led Rutgers in digs in all three matches against Towson, Princeton and Virginia – contributing to a trio of four-set victories for the Scarlet Knights and the team's first Rutgers Invitational crown since 2012. Swackenberg averaged 4.58 digs per set, with a high mark of 22 against Princeton on Friday evening. Swackenberg was exceptional on the serve receive, making just three errors in 59 attempts for a .952 average. She added three service aces and 11 assists without a setting error.
• After setting eight school records in 2018, the Scarlet Knights already have two new program marks in the books for 2019. The team set a record for blocks in a four-set match with 18 against Towson on Sept. 6, while sophomore middle
Merle Weidt totaled 12 blocks - an individual record for blocks in a four-setter.
• Swackenberg scooped a career-high 27 digs in the five-set match against Grand Canyon last Saturday as she surpassed 1,000 career digs as a Scarlet Knight. She becomes just the eighth player in program history to reach 1,000 digs, and now ranks seventh all-time with 1,090 digs.
• Senior middle
Jasmine Stackhouse raised her career total to 328 blocks, which ranks seventh in the all-time record book at Rutgers. Stackhouse was named to the Ellis Rowland Memorial All-Tournament Team last weekend at Colgate with 16 blocks in nine sets to go with 21 kills.
• Sophomore setter
Inna Balyko was also named to the All-Tournament Team at Colgate with 86 assists, 30 digs and eight kills in three sets, while directing an offense that hit .294 over the weekend without dropping a set. She already ranks ninth all-time in Rutgers history with 1,396 career assists.
• RU is 6-1 this season when winning the third set.
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Tali Marmen has led or tied for the team-lead in services aces five times this season.
• Rutgers had led or tied for the lead in team blocks in seven of nine matches.
• Rutgers had led or tied for the lead in team service aces in seven of nine matches.
• Five Scarlet Knights have 2.0 or more kills per set, while five different RU players have led a match in kills this season.
The Scarlet Knights begin their sixth season in the Big Ten at home against Michigan on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. inside the College Ave. Gym.
