Volleyball Falls in Opening Match With No. 12 Penn State

Friday, March 12

State College, Pa.

7:00 PM (ET)

Rutgers University

2-11,2-11Big Ten

Penn State

6-5,6-5Big Ten

Rutgers

Penn St.

Photo by: Mike Lawrence

Volleyball Falls in Opening Match With No. 12 Penn State

Mar 12 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Playing its fourth ranked opponent of the 2021 spring season, Rutgers volleyball fell 3-0 (15-25, 23-25, 19-25) to No. 12 Penn State at Rec Hall on Friday night.

The Scarlet Knights forced Penn State to four attempts at set point in the opening frame, narrowly missed a second set win as the Lady Lions squeaked by on two points and the final set was tied at 11-11 before the home team pulled away.

STANDOUT STATS

Senior Kamila Cieslik led Rutgers with eight kills and a pair of aces with junior Inna Balyko making 25 assists.
Senior Beka Kojadinovic had a team-leading seven digs while at the net Tina Grkovic recorded three blocks.

KEY MOMENTS

Set 1 (15-25) | The Lady Lions had its best hitting percentage of the evening swinging .348 to go up 1-0. The Serbian natives Kojadinovic and Grkovic teamed at the net for a stop to tie the opening stanza up 6-6, but Penn State would go on an 8-2 run to take control. With the Lady Lions serving for match point ahead 24-13, a kill from Kojadinovic and a pair of swings from Cieslik kept PSU at bay until its fourth attempt.
Set 2 (23-25) | Rutgers kept the momentum going into the second frame which featured 11 ties and six lead changes. The Scarlet Knights scored five unanswered for a 12-10 edge. Penn State used a 6-1 run to push ahead 21-19, but RU punched right back on points from Cieslik and Anastasiia Maksimova. Two Lady Lion errors allowed the Scarlet Knights to pull in front at 23-22, but PSU captured the next three points to go up 2-0.
Set 3 (19-25) | The Scarlet Knights jumped out a 4-0 advantage but the final frame was knotted up at 11-11. PSU outscored Rutgers, 8-1, to stay in front. It took the Lady Lions three attempts to take match point with a solo block from McNamara and Kojadinovic kill in the way.

HIGHLIGHTS

UP NEXT

Rutgers plays in primetime on BTN when the Scarlet Knights face No. 12 Penn State for game two on Saturday, March 13 at 7 p.m. with Evan Stockton and Michelle McMahon on the call.

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