Ben Solomon

Box Score

Rutgers RU 1-0,0-0 Big Ten

N.C. A&T NCA&T 0-1,0-0 CAA

Rutgers RU

1-0,0-0 Big Ten

Final

Aug. 25, 2023

N.C. A&T NCA&T

0-1,0-0 CAA

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	F
Rutgers RU	25	25	26	(3)
N.C. A&T NCA&T	16	16	24	(0)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | Aug 25

Volleyball Opens Season With Three-Set Victory Over NC A&T

Box Score

Next Match:

at Virginia

8/26/2023 | 2:30 PM

ACCNX

Next Match

Full Schedule

Aug. 26 (Sat) / 2:30 PM

at Virginia

Recap
Roster

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Rutgers volleyball opened up the 2023 season with a three-set victory over North Carolina A&T at the Cavalier Classic on Friday afternoon.

The Scarlet Knights defeated the Aggies 25-16, 25-16, 26-24 to mark the third-consecutive season-opening win for the first time since the 1995, 1996 and 1997 seasons.

Volleyball NC A&T victory graphic featuring Alissa Kinkela

STANDOUT STATS

The Scarlet Knights hit .391 on the afternoon while the Aggies committed 16 errors on the attack and were limited to hitting .157 across all three frames.
Redshirt sophomore Alisa Kinkela led the attack with 12 kills with newcomer Anna Hartman contributing eight kills, including the final two points of the match to give Rutgers the sweep.
Fifth-year senior Alyssa Nayar got the start at setter putting up 28 helpers.
The Scarlet Knights totaled six aces with a pair coming from senior Madyson Chitty and sophomore Lexi Visintine.
Chitty also collected 15 digs for the defense with redshirt sophomore Rikki Williams, senior Kristina Grkovic and Kinkela posting two blocks each.

KEY MOMENTS

Set 1 (25-16) | Rutgers took control of the set with four consecutive points to go ahead 8-5. In the run, freshman Anna Hartman collected her first career kill and block. Back-to-back errors by the Aggies pushed RU in front 10-6, but NC A&T generated three straight kills to pull within a point. The Scarlet Knights, however, stayed in front as Taylor Humphrey responded with the first of four successful RU kills for a 14-9 lead along with an Aggie timeout. NC A&T managed to close within two points, 18-16, but it was all RU from that point on. The Scarlet Knights closed with a 6-0 run including a solo stop by Kristina Grkovic and an ace by Lexi Visintine. Rutgers limited the Aggies to a .000 hit percentage.

Set 2 (25-16) | The Scarlet Knights went up 2-0 by the same set score. RU hit a game-best .593 and never allowed NC A&T more the two consecutive points in a row. Rutgers reached double digits first going out to a 10-5 lead behind seven kills on 12 attempts. The Scarlet Knights continued to grow the lead to 14-6 using a 4-0 run on a trio of kills from Alissa Kinkela. Kinkela led with five kills in set two, just shy of double-figure kills for the match.

Set 3 (26-24) | The rookies helped Rutgers to the early 8-5 lead with back-to-back kills from Anna Hartman and Kenzie Dyrstad's first career ace. NC A&T, however, scored six of the next eight points for its first lead since a 4-3 edge in the first set. RU took back the lead at 17-15 on a 6-1 run helped by aces from Bekah Williams and Madyson Chitty. The Aggies tied the set up at 17-17 but back-to-back swings from Alissa Kinkela put Rutgers back in front. From there the Scarlet Knights never trailed but NC A&T tied up the frame down the stretch at 23-23 and 24-24. RU captured the sweep with the final two points on swings from Anna Hartman.

KNIGHT NOTES

The Scarlet Knights' .391 hitting percentage was the fourth-best by the squad during the rally era.
Rutgers has won three straight season openers for the first time since the 1995, 1996 and 1997 seasons. Additionally, head coach Caitlin Schweihofer upped her season-opening record with the Scarlet Knights to 3-1.
Kristina Grkovic moved up on a pair of rally-era career block records. With two total blocks, she moved into a tie for ninth with 190 career total rejections alongside Stephanie Zielinksi (2009-12). Grkovic needs 17 more blocks to surpass Stasa Miljevic (2017-19) for eighth. Additionally, Grkovic's solo block moved into a four-way tie for sixth on the rally-era career list alongside Rachel Andreassian (2012-14) and former teammates Megan Vernon (2021-22) and Shealyn McNamara (2020-21). Grkovic needs two more to move into fifth past Jasmine Stackhouse (2016-19).
Madyson Chitty's 15 digs bring her career total up to 895 and into fifth place on the rally-era career list past former teammate Inna Balyko (2018-21). She needs 106 more to move into fourth past Ronnie Komisarek (2012-15) which will also make her a part of the 1,000 career digs club.