Volleyball Heads To Maryland For BTN Matchup on Wednesday

Wednesday, October 20

College Park, Md.

6:00 PM (ET)

Rutgers University

Maryland

Photo by: Michael Cummo

Volleyball Heads To Maryland For BTN Matchup on Wednesday

Oct 18 | Women's Volleyball

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers is back out onto the road this week starting with a mid-week matchup at Maryland on BTN. The Scarlet Knights and Terps square off at 6 p.m. with Connor Onion and Emily Ehman on the national broadcast.

GAME DAY INFO

Venue:	Xfinity Pavilion Center \| College Park, Md.
Game Notes:	Rutgers \| Maryland
Statistics:	Rutgers \| Maryland \| Big Ten
TV:	BTN \| Fox Sports App (Connor Onion & Emily Ehman)
Live Stats:	at Maryland
Social Media:	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram

ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS

Rutgers is back out onto the road this week starting with a mid-week matchup at Maryland on BTN. The Scarlet Knights and Terps square off at 6 p.m. with Connor Onion and Emily Ehman on the national broadcast.
The Scarlet Knights have opened the Big Ten slate with a tough schedule meeting six Top 25 programs in their first eight games. Rutgers is looking to rebound after a 3-1 setback against Penn State and a 3-0 loss to No. 7 Ohio State on the road.
In the loss to Penn State, Rutgers earned its first set victory over the Nittany Lions since 2001 behind double-doubles by fifth-year senior Beka Kojadinovic (12k, 13d) and senior Inna Balyko (22a, 14d). Additionally, RU collected 13 blocks, led by Balyko's eight and seven from graduate student Megan Vernon for the most rejections by the Scarlet Knights since early September.
Kojadinovic continues to lead the attack at 2.89 kills per set while adding 2.53 digs and 0.58 blocks per set for the defense. She is the rally-era leader in aces with 97 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 just cracked the rally-era top 10 with 189 career blocks and is sixth in the rally-era in career kills (787) and career digs (761).
Also on the offense, fifth-year senior Kamila Cieslik is contributing 2.07 kills per frame and senior Anastasiia Maksimova is adding 2.04 kills per set.
Shealyn McNamara, meanwhile, continues to lead defense and factors in offensively. She is one of four Scarlet Knight with over 100 kills this season and ranks 10th in the Big Ten with 1.23 blocks per set. She has totaled 79 blocks on the season. In her two seasons "On The Banks", she has placed her name second among career rally-era stats at 1.03 blocks per set and second among season rally-era stats at 1.23 blocks per set.
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 8.55 helpers per frame and surpassed the 3,000 career assist in RU's matchup with the Badgers back on Sept. 25. Balyko is featured among the rally-era career top 10 checking in second in assists per set (8.85), third in service aces (88), fifth in digs (797), fourth in solo blocks (26) and fifth in block assists (226) and total blocks (252).
Sophomore Madyson Chitty is collecting 3.74 digs per set for the defense and in just 19 games into her second season "On The Banks" is fourth in the rally era in career digs per set (3.35).

SCOUTING MARYLAND

The Terps welcome the Scarlet Knights at 15-5 overall and 3-5 in Big Ten play. Among Maryland's Big Ten wins was a five-set upset victory of No. 2 Wisconsin back on Sept. 4. After the victory over the Badgers, the Terps dropped four straight. Maryland has gone 2-1 in play after snapping the losing streak including a sweep on Indiana on Oct. 9 and a 3-1 victory at Michigan State last Saturday.
Maryland leads the nation in blocks averaging 3.17 rejections per set as a team. At the net, Rainelle Jones is the nation's leader in rejections at 1.85 stops per set and leading all Division I athletes with 122 total blocks.
Jones is also the second-leading attacker for the Terps at 2.09 kills per set with Paula Neciporuka leading Maryland at 2.99 kills per frame. Sydney Sowler sets up the offense at 10.13 assists per set, ranking seventh in the league in the category, while also leading the Terps with 23 aces.
Milan Gomillion, meanwhile, leads the Big Ten in digs averaging 4.66 per set.

UP NEXT

Rutgers closes out its four-game road tilt closing out the season series at Indiana on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m.
The Scarlet Knights return home next week to host Illinois on BTN on Friday, Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. and Maryland on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m.
Fans at Friday's contest with the Fighting Illini have a chance to enter a raffle to win a personal training start up package from Rutgers Recreation & Fitness or Apple AirPods.

Follow Rutgers women's volleyball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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