PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers volleyball team had its first B1G test of the season opening the conference portion of its schedule with a 3-0 (10-25, 12-25, 20-25) loss to No. 20 Penn State in front of 1,237 at the RAC on Friday night.

The Scarlet Knights fell to 8-4 overall while the Nittany Lions upped their mark to 8-3.
 

STANDOUT STATS

• Fifth-year senior Beka Kojadinovic led Rutgers with 10 kills with senior Inna Balyko setting up the attack 21 times.
• Defensively, sophomore Madyson Chitty picked up nine digs and redshirt senior Shealyn McNamara made five blocks.

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KEY MOMENTS

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• Set 1 (10-25) | The Nittany Lions opened with the hot-hitting hand while nine attack errors kept the Scarlet Knights from finding rhythm. Penn State swung .500 opening with the match's first five points.
• Set 2 (12-25) | It was another early lead for the visitors going out to an 8-1 edge to start. Beka Kojadinovic contributed four of her team-leading 10 kills
• Set 3 (20-25) | Rutgers was able to take its first lead of the night in the final frame hitting a game-best .333. After the Nittany Lions took the first three points, Cansu Gunaydin came up with two big swings and helped serve up a 5-4 Rutgers advantage.  A service error from Penn State knotted the score one last time at 8-8 before the visitors went on an 11-1 run. Gunaydin, however, helped spark to Rutgers four-straight with a kill and an ace, and later set up a Kamila Cieslik kill to cut the deficit to 21-16. The two squads traded the next five points and Rutgers forced Penn State to fight for set point three times.

KNIGHT NOTES

• With her 21 assists, Inna Balyko is nine assists away from becoming the fifth Scarlet Knight in history to log 3,000 career assists.

HIGHLIGHTS

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PHOTO GALLERY

 
 

UP NEXT

• It's another B1G test for the Scarlet Knights as Rutgers volleyball welcomes No. 2 Wisconsin on Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Admission to all Rutgers volleyball games is free.
• All fans must register for parking - Click here to register your vehicle.
• Fans can enter with bags that are clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC and approximately 12″ x 6″ x 12″, or one-gallon clear plastic bags or similar, and small clutch bags, approximately the size of a hand, can be taken into athletic venues. Exceptions will be made for medically necessary items after proper inspection.
• The game will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.

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