NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. –  The Rutgers volleyball team pushed undefeated No. 19 Ohio State to the brink on Saturday at the College Ave Gym forcing the contest into a fifth and deciding set where the Buckeyes earn the victory with a 16-14 final frame.
 
Ohio State improved to 11-0 in the 25-20, 23-25, 25-18, 22-25, 16-14 win.
 

STANDOUT STATS

• Three Scarlet Knights collected double-doubles. Senior Beka Kojadinovic collected a team-leading and season-high16 kills to go along with 10 digs. Junior Anastasiia Makismova had 14 kills and 13 digs. Junior Inna Balyko made 44 assists to go with 10 digs.
• Balyko moved up two spots on the Rutgers all-time assists leaders list to fifth place.
• Both Kojadinovic and Balyko served up four aces.
• Redshirt junior Shealyn McNamara was also in double-figure kills with 13 and committed just one error in her 20 attack attempts.
• Altogether four Scarlet Knights were in double-digit digs led by freshman Madyson Chitty's season-high 17.  
• Freshman Tina Grkovic tied her season-high with six blocks.

KEY MOMENTS

• Set 1 (20-25) | Balyko moved into sixth on the Rutgers' assist list with her eight first set helpers. Down by 10, the Scarlet Knights went on a 7-0 run and trailed 22-19. During the burst, Balyko was the service line for six of those points and served up a trio of aces. Emily Londot scored three of the next four points to put the Buckeyes up 1-0.    
• Set 2 (25-23) | Four assists into the second frame, Balyko moved up another spot on the assist leaders list into fifth. The set endured 12 ties altogether. Knotted up at 16-16, Rutgers scored six unanswered including three points from Kojadinovic on a kill and two aces. With RU leading 21-16, responded with a 6-0 run of their own to retake the lead. Ohio State was ahead 23-22 when a pair of Buckeye errors put Rutgers at set point where a Grkovic ace tied the match up at 1-1.
• Set 3 (18-25) | Rutgers battled back from a 9-1 deficit and clawed its way back into the set trailing 21-19. Ohio State hit .438 in the frame and scoring the final five points to take a 2-1 edge.
• Set 4 (25-22) | Shealyn McNamara started a 4-1 spurt that put Rutgers ahead 15-12. The Buckeyes, however, outscored the home team 7-3 to reclaim the lead at 19-18. A 5-1 run from the Scarlet Knights, including three points off swings from Maksimova, pushed RU back in front 23-20. The Buckeyes grabbed a pair of points to close the gap to within one, but Rutgers forced a fifth and deciding set on set point from Cansu Gunyadin.
• Set 5 (14-16) |  Rutgers took a 12-7 advantage, however, OSU scored five unanswered to tie the final set at 12-12. The Scarlet Knights were at match point at 14-13, but the Buckeyes responded with three-straight kills for the win.

KNIGHT NOTES

• It marked the first-time Rutgers has pushed a ranked Big Ten opponent to five sets.
• Balyko currently has 2,304 career assists surpassing Dannan Luca (1984-87) and Abbey Martin (2003-04) for fifth place on the all-time Rutgers assists list. She needs 1,523 more to move into fourth past Pualani Tuyay (1999-02).
• Balyko and Kojadinovic each had their third double-double of the 2021 campaign while Anastasiia Maksimova recorded her first. . Balyko leads all current Scarlet Knights with 22 career double-doubles, while Kojadinovic has nine and Maksimova has six.
• Rutgers' 10 aces were the second-best by the squad in a Big Ten matchup while, Kojadinovic and Balyko's four aces apiece are tied for the second-best effort from the service line in a Big Ten contest.
• Kojadinovic set a new season-high with her 16 kills besting her previous high of 15 against Indiana (1/30).
• Chitty set a new season mark in digs with 17 surpassing her previous best of 16 against No. 4 Nebraska.
• Grkovic tied her season-high with six blocks. She also had six blocks against Indiana.

HIGHLIGHTS

 

QUOTES

 

UP NEXT

 

• Rutgers hosts Michigan at the College Ave Gym on Friday, Mar. 5 and Saturday, Mar. 6 at 4 p.m.

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