FORT MYERS, Fla. – Rutgers volleyball overcame a two-set deficit to rally for a 3-2 victory over UMBC on the final day of the Homewood Suites FGCU Invitational.
 
UMBC, a 2021 NCAA Tournament Team and America East Champions, went up 2-0 taking the first two sets, 28-26 and 25-21, before the Scarlet Knights rallied, 25-17, 25-21 and 15-6.
 
Rutgers closes out its first weekend of play at 2-1 overall.

READ MORE: Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Madyson Chitty named to the all-tournament team.
 

STANDOUT STATS

• Fifth-year senior Beka Kojadinovic and senior Inna Balyko both had double-doubles. Kojadinovic tallied a double-double with 16 kills and 11 digs to go along with a game-high four aces, while Balyko set up a game-high 45 assists with 11 digs and was just of a triple-double with nine blocks.
• Sophomore Cansu Gunaydin was also in double-figure kills with a career-high 14.
• Rutgers totaled 17.0 blocks led by Balyko and redshirt senior Shealyn McNamara's nine rejections.
• Altogether five Scarlet Knights garnered double-figure digs led by 19 from sophomore Madyson Chitty.  

KEY MOMENTS

• Set 1 (26-28) | There were 12 ties before the Retrievers took the set ending with three straight points. After blocks from Beka Kojadinovic, Shea McNamara, Megan Vernon, and Alissa Kinkela contributed to a 3-0 burst to knot the score at 21-21 neither team enjoyed more than a one-point advantage until UMBC's final run.
• Set 2 (21-25) | The Scarlet Knights climbed back from a 6-0 deficit to start and pulled within 23-20 before the Retrievers pulled ahead for the 2-0 lead.
• Set 3 (25-17)  | Rutgers established a 10-5 lead when UMBC logged four consecutive points to pull within one. The Scarlet Knights would not relinquish the lead though and closed out the set outscoring 6-1.
• Set 4 (25-21) | The frame endured 10 ties. UMBC knotted the score for a final time at 19-19 before RU went in front for good behind three of Cansu Gunaydin's six kills of the set.
• Set 5 (15-6) | The Scarlet Knights trailed 5-2 but got the five-set win closing with 11 unanswered points. Four points during the run came off swings by fifth-year senior Kamila Cieslik.

KNIGHT NOTES

• Last time Rutgers rallied from a 0-2 start for a win was against Wofford (8/25/12) in a 24-26, 23-25, 25-17, 25-19, 15-12 victory.
• At the net, the Scarlet Knights racked up 17.0 blocks, the most by the squad since collecting 18.0 rejections against Towson on 9/6/2019. RU has only had three games in the rally era with more blocks – 18.0 vs. Towson (9/6/2019) 18.0 vs. Michigan State (11/14/18) and 21.0 vs. Sacred Heart (9/14/13)
• Inna Balyko registered her second-straight double-double of the season and 25^th of her career.
• Beka Kojadinovic posted her first double-double of 2021 and the 15^th of her career.
• Kojadinovic also moved into a tie for third place in aces during the rally scoring era with 82 along side Stephanie Zielinksi (2009-12). She needs only one more to tie former teammate Karysa Swackenberg (2016-19) for second and 13 more to take the top spot from Ronnie Komisarek (2012-15).
• Cansu Gunaydin recorded her first match in double-digit kills with her career-high 14 kills.
• Inna Balyko and Shea McNamara had career numbers in blocks with nine block assists each. McNamara tied her career mark having also swatted away nine attempts in last year's home opener against Indiana (1/29/21). Balyko established a new career-high surpassing her previous best of eight against Michigan State (11/14/18).

QUOTES

"It's good for us to play under pressure early on in the season. We are never not going to play under pressure in the Big Ten. There's going to be a large attendance, there's going to be television audiences, there's going to be high level volleyball and competitors and we have to learn how to play under pressure. UMBC did a wonderful job of keeping the pressure on us. They're an excellent team and played in the NCAA tournament last year so they know how to compete against high level teams. We were able to make some lineup adjustments and Cansu (Gunaydin) really changed the overall chemistry and dynamic of the game. I was really proud of her in that moment. Inna (Balyko) continued to maintain composure throughout the match, didn't get overly frustrated and acted as a true leader, and Madyson Chitty showcased that she is one of the best liberos in the country." -- head coach Caitlin Schweihofer
 

UP NEXT

The Scarlet Knights return to action next weekend at the UConn Challenge. Rutgers will face Central Connecticut State on Friday, Sept. 3 and Lafayette and UConn on Saturday, Sept. 4.

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