NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The Rutgers women's volleyball team came home to earn the program's first-ever victory over Indiana with a 2021 spring season home-opening 3-1 victory (18-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-20) over the Hoosiers.
 
The win gave head coach Caitlin Schweihofer her first Scarlet Knight victory in her College Ave. Gym debut as Rutgers moved to 1-2 on the season. The Hoosiers, meanwhile, dropped to 0-3.  
 

STANDOUT STATS

• Three Scarlet Knights were in double figure kills with senior Kamila Cieslik and junior Anastasiia Maksimova leading the way with 12 each. Senior Beka Kojadinovic added 10.
• After recording no aces in its last appearance, Rutgers served up nine against the Hoosiers with junior Inna Balyko credited with four.
• Balyko became the seventh Scarlet Knight to reach the 2,000^th career assist mark with her 35 helpers.
• Balyko also captured the first double-double of the season adding 15 digs to her stat line. Freshman Madyson Chitty was also in double figures with 13.
• Rutgers also racked up 14 team blocks with nine total blocks and eight block assists coming from the hands of redshirt junior Shealyn McNamara.

KEY MOMENTS

• Set 1 (18-25) | Rutgers dropped the first set after Indiana opened the game hitting .361 and Breana Edwards recording six of her game-high 20 kills. Kojadinovic tied the opening frame at 5-5, but the Hoosiers would score four unanswered points to take the lead for good. A swing from Tina Grkovic brought the Scarlet Knights as close as 15-12.
• Set 2 (25-17) | Five service aces from five different Scarlet Knights and eight block assists helped propel the Scarlet Knights into the win column in the second set. With the set once again tied at 5-5, it was RU this time taking control by outscoring the Hoosiers 12-3, to stay ahead.   
• Set 3 (25-19) | Rutgers totaled six team blocks en-route to the 2-1 edge. Maksimova fired up the offense with four kills. Indiana took the lead early but did not hold an edge larger than three. Edwards gave the visitors a 12-8 edge, when RU produced a 6-0 run to take control. Rutgers closed out the set outscoring Indiana, 5-2.
• Set 4 (25-20) | The final set endured five ties. With the frame knotted up at 13-13, one of Cieslik's four kills in the set put RU out in front for good. Back-to-back aces from Balyko gave the Scarlet Knights a 22-18 lead.

KNIGHT NOTES

• Balyko became the seventh Scarlet Knight in history and first since 2012 to reach the 2,000 career assist mark with 35 against the Hoosiers. She currently has 2,017 and needs 251 more to surpass Danaan Luca (1984-87) for sixth on the all-time list.
• Additionally, Balyko's four aces are tied for the second-best performance by a Scarlet Knight in a Big Ten matchup.
• Balyko's double-double of 35 assists and 15 digs marked the 20^th of her career.
• McNamara's career-high nine total blocks are tied for the fifth-most in a Big Ten contest, while her career-high eight block assists are tied for the eighth-best by a Scarlet Knight in a Big Ten matchup.
• As a team, the Scarlet Knights produced 10 top 10 Big Ten records. Across all matches since joining the Big Ten in 2014, it was the second-most aces (9), tied for the third most assist blocks (26), tied for fifth for the most total blocks (14.0) and tied for 10th for most digs (58). In four-set matches, it was the most aces (9) and digs (72), second-most total blocks (14.0), tied for fifth-most kills (46) and attempts (132) and tied for sixth-most assists (43).
• It was RU's first win over the Hoosiers after Indiana had won the previous 12 meetings.
• The contest also marked the first-ever Big Ten home-opening victory.

 

QUOTES

"It feels amazing, not only because it's our first win of the season, it's also the first win over Indiana in the history of Rutgers volleyball. Most importantly, it was won as a team. Right after the game we talked about this. Our whole team worked together whether you were on the court the whole time, if you are subbing in for one rotation or if you are on the bench. Everyone was all in and that's what helped us win." - Senior right side Kamila Cieslik
 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

UP NEXT

 

• Rutgers closes out the series with Indiana on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the College Ave Gym. Due to COVID-19 safety protocols, there will be no admission to home games.

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