NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The Rutgers volleyball team fell short of the series sweep with a 3-1 loss to Indiana Saturday afternoon at the College Ave. Gym.
 
Rutgers powered back from a 2-0 deficit dropping the first two sets 25-19 and 25-15 before holding a Big Ten opponent to single-digit points in a set for the first time ever with 25-9 third set victory. The Scarlet Knights led for most of the fourth set, but the Hoosiers fought back to claim the match with a close 25-23 set win.
 
The loss dropped Rutgers to 1-3 on the year, while Indiana earned its first win to improve to 1-3. 
 

STANDOUT STATS

• Rutgers hit .314 marking its best hitting percentage in a Big Ten Contest
• Two Scarlet Knights logged double-doubles with senior Beka Kojadinovic's team-leading 15 kills and 12 digs and junior Inna Balyko's 43 assists and 11 digs.
• Senior Anastasiia Maksimova was also in double-figure kills with 10 while freshman Tina Grkovic had nine kills while hitting .562.
• Grkovic also racked up a pair of solo blocks and four block assists.

KEY MOMENTS

• Set 1 (19-25) | Maksimova led the way for Rutgers with four kills and a hitting at a.429 clip. The Scarlet Knights overcame an eight-point deficit with a 6-0 run capped by a Balyko ace to trail 15-13. A Kojadinovic swing brought RU within two at 18-16 but the Hoosiers stayed in front.
• Set 2 (15-25) | Kojadinovic brought the Scarlet Knights within one at 10-9, but a 7-2 run by the Hoosiers to follow kept the visitors ahead.
• Set 3 (25-9) | Rutgers captured a .609 hitting percentage in the set and never trailed. The set was tied on four occasions, but Rutgers went on a tear with 10 unanswered to lead 16-5 and keep the Hoosiers to single digits.
• Set 4 (23-25) | The Scarlet Knights continued momentum into the next jumping out to a 6-1 advantage and led by as many as seven at 14-7. A 6-0 surge from the visitors narrowed the gap to within one with RU leading, 15-14. The Scarlet Knights pushed ahead with a 21-17 advantage, but Indiana came back to win it ending the game on an 8-2 run.    

KNIGHT NOTES

• Rutgers' .314 hitting percentage is the best in Big Ten play topping the previous high of .284 set against Iowa back on Oct. 10, 2018 at the College Ave. Gym.
• Balyko notched her second-straight double-double and has 21 in her career.
• Balyko's 43 helpers are tied for the fifth most by an RU student-athlete in a Big Ten contest. Balyko holds four of the top six top assist performances in a match. 
• Kojadinovic, meanwhile, captured her first double-double of the 2021 spring season and eighth of her career.
• Kojadinovic's .520 attack percentage is the third best and 15 kills are the sixth most by a Scarlet Knight in a Big Ten match since joining the league in 2014. 
• The nine points scored by Indiana in Rutgers' 25-9 third set victory are the fewest by a Rutgers opponent in a Big Ten matchup since joining the league in 2014.
• The Scarlet Knights' 46 assists are the fourth most in a four-set Big Ten contest.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

POSTGAME QUOTES

 

UP NEXT

 

• Rutgers travels to No. 1 Wisconsin to meet the Badgers on Friday, February 5th at 6 p.m. (CT)/ 7 p.m. (ET) and Saturday, February 6th at 4 p.m. (CT)(/5 p.m. (ET).

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