NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Sept. 6, 2019) – Rutgers volleyball scored a pair of four-set victories over Towson and Princeton to begin the Rutgers Invitational on Friday at the College Ave. Gym. The first two wins of 2019 have the hosting Scarlet Knights one win away from hoisting its own tournament crown – which will be decided on Saturday against Virginia at 2 p.m.
| Rutgers |
14 |
26 |
28 |
25 |
- |
3 |
| Towson |
25 |
24 |
26 |
22 |
- |
1 |
| Rutgers |
25 |
23 |
25 |
25 |
- |
3 |
| Princeton |
18 |
25 |
20 |
14 |
- |
1 |
- One year after setting eight new program records, Rutgers already has its first two of 2019.
- Sophomore middle Merle Weidt recorded 11 total blocks against Towson, the most in school history for a four-set match.
- Rutgers combined for 17.5 team blocks against Towson, a school record for a four-setter.
- Sophomore outside hitter Tali Marmen racked up 31 kills on the day with 14 against Towson and 17 to beat Princeton. Marmen connected at a .351 clip in the Princeton victory.
- Sophomore outside hitter Anastasiia Maksimova collected a double-double while leading the team in kills over Towson with 14 to go with 12 digs.
- Junior opposite hitter Beka Kojadinovic had a career day against Princeton, killing a career-high 18 on a .531 attack percentage with 10 digs for her double-double.
- Sophomore setter Inna Balyko passed out 11.6 assists per set while leading Rutgers to a season-best .293 attack over Princeton.
- Senior libero Karysa Swackenberg totaled 40 digs on Friday, good for 5.0 per set, while adding six assists and two aces.
- Towson: With score tied at 21s, 22s, 23s and 24s in the second set against Towson, Weidt and Maksimova tied the match at a set apiece with back-to-back kills for the 26-24 win.
- Towson: Facing set points in the third down 24-23 and 25-24, Maksimova and senior middle Stasa Miljevic each bounced a kill to keep RU alive before Marmen polished off the set with two kills to clinch at 28-26.
- Towson: Down 8-2 in the fourth, Rutgers called a timeout before using a 7-1 run to tie it at 9-9.
- Princeton: Marmen, with two kills, and Weidt, with a kill and a block, owned the end of the opening set during a 7-0 run.
- Princeton: Rutgers never trailed in the fourth set, propelled by a 6-1 spurt midway through on the back of two blocks, three kills and a service ace by Swackenberg.
"I thought it was a great team effort today," said head coach
CJ Werneke. "Against Towson, we fought hard to come back in multiple sets and showed a lot of grit. Against Princeton, I thought we played more consistently, especially on offense. Overall, we had great focus on the defensive assignments and it showed in both blocking and digging stats."
- Senior middle Jasmine Stackhouse had five blocks against Princeton to vault her into seventh place all-time at Rutgers with 309 total blocks, surpassing Mara Prieditis (1994-97).
- Double-doubles (# in career): Balyko x2 (11), Maksimova (3), Kojadinovic (5).
- Rutgers surpassed its four-set blocking school record of 17.0 set against Maryland in 2015.
- Weidt's record 11 blocks in a four-set match moved passed Stasa Miljevic's record of 10 set last season.
The Scarlet Knights conclude the Rutgers Invitational on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Virginia at the College Ave. Gym.
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