EVANSTON, Ill. – The 2021 Rutgers volleyball season got underway Friday evening after 418 days between the Scarlet Knights' last appearance on the court. The Scarlet Knights fell 3-0 (12-25, 18-25, 16-25) to host Northwestern in head coach Caitlin Schweihofer's debut.
 

STANDOUT STATS

• Senior right side hitter Beka Kojadinovic led the offense with eight kills and a pair of aces, while classmate Kamila Cieslik added seven kills and junior setter Inna Balyko captured 14 assists.
• On the defense, freshman Madyson Chitty made her Scarlet Knight debut with 12 digs alongside Tina Grkovic who posted a pair of blocks.

KEY MOMENTS

• Set 1 (12-25) |  Rutgers trailed by one, 3-2, when the Wildcats extended its lead scoring nine of the next ten points. With Northwestern ahead, 18-6, RU managed to cut into the deficit outscoring the Wildcats 6-3, which included a trio of Scarlet Knights veterans on the attack. Kojadinovic, Anastasiia Maksimova and Kamila Cieslik each had a hand in keeping the set going, however, Rutgers could not pull closer.  
• Set 2 (18-25) | All together the set endured six ties. The Scarlet Knights jumped ahead 3-0 thanks to back-to-back aces from Kojadinovic. While the lead changed hands on four-straight from Northwestern, Rutgers bounced back for an 8-7 edge thanks to a swing from Anastasiia Maksimova along with the junior teaming up with freshman Tina Grkovic at the pin and a service ace from Baylko. Another Maksimova kill saw RU ahead 10-9 before the Wildcats made another run outscoring the Scarlet Knights 7-1. A trio of errors from the home team pulled RU within 20-15 before Northwestern closed out the set.
• Set 3 (16-25) | Northwestern pulled in front 9-4, but Rutgers closed the gap to within two three times along the way. Two kills by Cieslik saw RU behind 13-11, however, shortly after the Wildcats used six-answered points to stay ahead down the stretch.

KNIGHT NOTES

• Friday's contest marked the debut of five Scarlet Knights, which included six kills from Shealyn McNamara.
• Balyko continues to move closer to the 2,000 career assist mark. With her 14 against the Wildcats she upped her career mark to 1,962.  

HIGHLIGHTS

 

UP NEXT

 
Rutgers volleyball finishes the series with Northwestern at 6 p.m. (CT)/7 p.m. (ET) on Saturday at Welsh Ryan Arena.

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