Friday, October 15
State College, Pa.
7:30 PM (ET)
Rutgers University
at
Penn State
Photo by: Rich Graessle
Volleyball Begins B1G Road Trip With No. 15 Penn State and No. 7 Ohio State
Oct 13 | Women's Volleyball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers volleyball begins a four-game road tilt this weekend with No. 15 Penn State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and at No. 7 Ohio State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
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| GAME DAY INFO |
| Venue: | Rec Hall | State College, Pa. Covelli Center | Columbus, Ohio |
| Game Notes: | Rutgers | Penn State | Ohio State |
| Statistics: | Rutgers | Penn State | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| Video: | at Penn State | at Ohio State |
| Live Stats: | at Penn State | at Ohio State |
| Social Media: | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram |
| ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS |
- The Scarlet Knights embark on a four-game road trip beginning with a second meeting with No. 15 Penn State on Friday and the first of two meetings with No. 7 Ohio State on Saturday.
- The Scarlet Knights have opened the Big Ten slate with a tough schedule meeting four Top 25 programs in their first six games. Rutgers is looking to rebound after a 3-1 setback against Indiana and a 3-0 loss to No. 10 Nebraska last weekend at home.
- Last time against Penn State, fifth-year senior Beka Kojadinovic led Rutgers with 10 kills with Inna Balyko setting up the attack 21 times. Defensively, sophomore Madyson Chitty picked up nine digs and redshirt senior Shealyn McNamara made five blocks.
- Kojadinovic continues to lead the attack at 2.91 kills per set while adding 2.54 digs and 0.54 blocks per set for the defense. She is the rally-era leader in aces with 96 in her career "On The Banks" and needs 21 more to crack Rutgers' all-time top 10 list. She currently has a team-leading 21 in the 2021 season. Last season she served up 10 aces against Michigan State setting a Rutgers record and tying for the second-most in a game in Big Ten history. Additionally, she is nearing cracking the rally-era top 10 with 183 career blocks.
- Shealyn McNamara, meanwhile, continues to lead defense and factors in offensively. She is one of three Scarlet Knight with over 100 kills this season and ranks ninth in the Big Ten with 1.26 blocks per set. She has totaled 72 blocks on the season and has led RU in the category in all but five games. In her two seasons "On The Banks", she has placed her name second among career rally-era stats at 1.03 blocks per set.
- Senior Inna Balyko, RU's first-ever First Team All-Big Ten selection who is fifth all-time and second in the rally era in assists, is averaging 8.89 helpers per frame and surpassed the 3,000 career assist in RU's matchup with the Badgers back on Sept. 25.
- Sophomore Madyson Chitty is collecting 3.72 digs per set for the defense and in just 17 games into her second season "On The Banks" is fourth in the rally era in digs per set.
| SCOUTING PENN STATE |
- The No. 15 Nittany Lions welcome the Scarlet Knights at 12-4 overall and 5-1 in Big Ten play. Then-No. 10 Nebraska handed PSU its first conference loss in a 3-1 setback in a battle for sole possession of first place in the league last Friday.
- Since last meeting up with RU on Sept. 24, Penn State has gone 4-1 including a win over No. 3 Ohio State and a five-set victory at Maryland.
- Jonni Parker continues to lead the Lion offense at 3.70 kills per set, ranking fifth in the league, followed by Erik Pritchard at 2.59 kills per frame. Meanwhile, Allie Holland is fifth in the league hitting .406 with 103 kills on 212 attempts and Kaitlyn Hord is 10th in the Big Ten attacking at a .377 clip with 2.27 kills per set.
- Gabby Blossom, meanwhile, is dishing 10.25 assists per set, checking in seventh among Big Ten setters, and leads the squad with 19 aces.
- Hord also leads the Nittany Lions, is second among Big Ten defenders at the net and fifth nationally at 1.58 blocks per set.
- Jenna Hampton leads PSU at 3.64 digs per set.
| SCOUTING OHIO STATE |
- The seventh-ranked Buckeyes enter the weekend at 14-2 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten action having won four straight. They went a perfect 10-0 in nonconference action including a 3-1 win over No. 4 Washington.
- Ohio State is the league leader in kills at 14.91 per set and second in hitting percentage at .297. They are led by Emily Londot at 3.87 kills per set and Gabby Gonzales at 3.19 kills per set. Londot is fourth in the conference in kills per set. Meanwhile, Rylee Rader is swinging away to a .474 attack percentage ranking second in the Big Ten and third nationally.
- Setting up the attack is Mac Podraza who is second nationally behind Wisconsin's Sydney Hilley at 12.02 assists per stanza.
- Defensively, OSU is led by Kyle Murr at 4.61 digs per set and Arica Davis at 1.30 blocks per set. Murr is second in the Big Ten in the digs category, while Davis checks in eighth in the conference in blocks.
| UP NEXT |
- Rutgers will continue to on the road but will be playing live on national television on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at Maryland at 6 p.m. in front of the Big Ten Network cameras.
- The road tilt continues at Indiana in a rematch with the Hoosiers on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.
Follow Rutgers women's volleyball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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