NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Rutgers volleyball hosts its final two home games of the 2023 season this weekend hosting Northwestern on Friday at 7 p.m. and Michigan State on Saturday at 6 p.m. on Senior Night. Both games will be played at the College Ave Gym.
 

GAME DAY INFO

 

Venue:	Jersey Mike's Arena | Piscataway, N.J.
Admission:	Free
Parking:	Click here to register
Game Notes:	Rutgers | Northwestern | Michigan State
Statistics:	Rutgers | Northwestern | Michigan State
Video:	BTN +
Live Stats:	Statbroadcast.com
Social Media:	Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

    

PROMOTIONS

• Saturday vs. Michigan State - SENIOR NIGHT - The Scarlet Knight seniors - Madyson Chitty, Kristina Grkovic, Chelsea Harvey & Alyssa Nayar - will be celebrated following Saturday evening's match with the Spartans.

ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS

• Four games are left on the Rutgers volleyball 2023 schedule with RU welcoming Northwestern and Michigan State in their final two home games.
• Last week, the Scarlet Knights battled Indiana thru 21 ties in the first two frames in a 3-0 loss in Bloomington and had five in double-figure kills, hit a Big Ten-best .333 and outblocked Michigan 18-11 in a four set setback at the College Ave Gym against the Wolverines. 
• In the first meeting with the Spartans back on October 1, Rutgers took the first set and overcame an eight-point deficit in the fourth frame to trail 24-23, but it was host Michigan State taking a 3-1 victory. Kristina Grkovic led RU with 12 kills hitting .455 along with six blocks, Alyssa Nayar had a double-double with 30 assists and 10 digs, Bekah Williams served up a trio of aces and Madyson Chitty led all with 18 digs.
• Sophomore right side Alissa Kinkela leads the offense with 3.00 k/s both and is coming off a team-leading 13 kills as one of five Scarlet Knights in double figures against Michigan on Sunday. In RU's last win, Kinkela collected her fifth double-double of the year behind a season-high 19 kills and 11 digs giving Rutgers double-figure wins for the first time since 2012.
• Senior middle Kristina Grkovic is adding 2.16 k/s hitting a team-best .330 along with a team-leading 22 aces, which included a career-high tying five against N.C. State. She is among the Rutgers rally-era top five in blocks and top 10 leaders in kills, aces, and points.
• Fifth-year senior Alyssa Nayar is on the set averaging 8.86 helpers per set, ranking ninth in the Big Ten, and is second on the team with 2.80 d/s. She also leads the Scarlet Knights with 11 double-doubles on the season which is currently third on the RU season leaders list.
• Senior libero Madyson Chitty is currently logging 3.64 d/s, ranking ninth in the Big Ten. The Lewis Center, Ohio native became the 10th Scarlet Knight in history to reach the 1,000 career digs when RU closed nonconference play against Princeton and more recently surpassed the 1,200 career mark putting her name fourth all-time and third in the rally era at Rutgers.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN

• The Wildcats enter the week at 12-14 overall and 6-10 in Big Ten play coming off a sweep at Iowa on Sunday.
• Offensively, Northwestern is led by graduate student outside Julia Sangiacomo at 3.96 k/s, who is sixth in the Big Ten in the category, while senior Alexa Rousseau sets up the attack with 9.18 a/s, checking in sixth among Big Ten setters. At the service line, both Rousseau and junior libero Ellee Stinson have a team-leading 25 aces.
• At the net, senior middle Leilani Dodson enters the match with 104 total blocks while sophomore middle Kennedy Hill has 92 total blocks averaging 1.12 per set  Stinson also adds 4.28 d/s, third-best in the conference.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE

• Michigan State starts off the week at 16-11 overall and 8-8 in league play with losses last weekend at Ohio State in three sets and at No. 16 Purdue in four sets. The Spartans will meet No. 14 Penn State in State College on Friday before coming to the College Ave Gym.
• Freshman outside Taylah Holdem leads her squad on the attack at 3.52 k/s, ranking ninth in the league, with freshman Cameron Berger and junior Julia Bishop putting up 6.61 and 5.79 assists per set respectively. Holdem also leads the Spartans with 28 service aces.
• Defensively, fifth-year middle Amani McArthur has made 102 rejections averaging 1.13 blocks per set to rank ninth in the Big Ten while senior libero Nalani Iosia is putting up 4.27 d/s to place her name fourth in the category in the conference..

RUTGERS ON THE RISE

• In Caitlin Schweihofer's first season, played in the spring of 2021 due to Covid-19, the Scarlet Knights tripled its conference win total en route to capturing numerous program firsts. Among the team's first were its first-ever All-Big Ten honoree and Big Ten series sweeps. The Scarlet Knights won their first-ever Big Ten home opener, earned victories over Indiana and Michigan State for the first time in history, captured two series sweeps against Maryland and Michigan State, picked up set victories against No. 4 Nebraska and No. 10 Purdue and pushed No. 19 Ohio State to five sets and match point. RU established new team, season and match records for aces and reset program Big Ten game bests in kills, attempts, attack percentage and assists, as well as individual conference superlatives in attack percentage, assists and digs.
• Returning to fall ball for the 2021 season only three and a half months after the conclusion of the Big Ten-only 2020 season, Rutgers continued to make strides going 8-3 for its best nonconference record since 2012. During the season the Scarlet Knights battled eight Top 25 teams during Big Ten play, a conference that sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament, including the year's national champion. Rutgers captured set wins over No. 8 Purdue and No. 15 Penn State and took Illinois to five sets in front of a national audience on BTN. Inna Balyko wrapped up her career fifth all-time in assists and ninth all-time in block assists, while Kamila Cieslik became the rally era leader in matches played (132) and Beka Kojadinovic concluded her career as the rally era leader in aces.
• Last season, Rutgers incorporated eight newcomers into the mix continuing to make notable strides. The Scarlet Knights opened the year at 3-0 for the first time since 1998 and battled eight Top 25 teams during Big Ten play and eight teams that advanced to the 2022 NCAA Tournament. During the nonconference schedule, four Scarlet Knights were named to All-Tournament squads. Altogether Rutgers had 11 entries among the rally-era season leaders list including Kristina Grkovic in aces, Madyson Chitty in digs, Alyssa Nayar in assists per set, and Taylor Humphrey and Alissa Kinkela in kills per set.
• RU has picked up 10 wins on the year and played to an 8-2 out-of-conference mark in 2023 making it the program's nonconference and overall record since the 2012 season. Among the nonconference highlights include a 3-1 win at Rider that gave head coach Caitlin Schweihofer her 100th career win, a 3-1 victory at Columbia with redshirt sophomore Alissa Kinkela capturing the fifth-best hitting percentage in a match in school history and senior Madyson Chitty becoming the 10th Scarlet Knight in history to reach 1,000 career digs in a five-set match with Princeton. During the Big Ten season, the Scarlet Knights earned its first-ever top 25 victory with a 3-1 win over No. 16 Minnesota with Alyssa Nayar earning Big Ten Setter of the Week. Additionally, the Scarlet Knights collected their first-ever set victory at Huff Hall against Illinois and went to five sets against the Fighting Illini for the second time in the series history at Jersey Mike's Arena. 

UP NEXT

• Rutgers volleyball closes out the 2023 season on the road meeting up with Maryland on Friday, Nov. 24 and Ohio State on Saturday, Nov. 25.

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