PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers volleyball opened up Homecoming Weekend with the first of two Top 25 contests on Friday night at Jersey Mike's Arena with a 25-13, 25-22, 25-17 setback to No. 14 Minnesota.

• Freshman Avery Jesewitz led the Scarlet Knights on the attack for the fourth time this season with eight kills. She also had a team second-best seven digs.
• Freshman Natalie Robinson and redshirt junior Alissa Kinkela each had six kills.
• Junior Aly Borellis recorded 23 assists.
• On defense, sophomore Kenzie Dyrstad came up with a game-high 13 digs, while Kinkela added a trio of blocks to her stat line.

• SET 1 (13-25) | Rutgers took an early 5-3 edge, but Minnesota captured the lead following a 7-1 run to climb out to a 10-6 advantage. A Zora Hardison attack saw RU trail 18-13, but Minnesota closed out the opener with seven straight and finished hitting .583. Jesewitz led the Scarlet Knights with three kills.

S1 | Air Robinson
.#GoRU ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/zZ1sg36uTK

— Rutgers Volleyball (@RUvball) October 18, 2024

• SET 2 (22-25) | Rutgers trailed by one late, 23-22, but Minnesota would pull out the second set victory. Altogether, the frame endured 11 ties and four lead changes. Alissa Kinkela gave RU leads on swings at 11-10 and 12-11, but Minnesota logged seven unanswered to take an 18-12 lead. Jesewitz ignited a 5-1 run behind a kill and an ace and narrowed the Scarlet Knight deficit to 19-17. While the Golden Gophers pulled ahead at 21-18, Rutgers captured points on three of the next four and trailed by one. Kills from Robinson, Jesewitz and Kinkela saw RU down 23-22. Minnesota, however, went up 2-0 taking the next two rotations. Kinkela totaled four kills and Kenzie Dyrstad collected five digs.

S2 | H-O-T-T-O-E-O 🔥
.#GoRU ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/RFCSdkJ9NC

— Rutgers Volleyball (@RUvball) October 19, 2024

• SET 3 (17-25) | Minnesota played out to a 16-4 lead in the final set en route to the victory. The second half of the final set, however, saw the Scarlet Knights outscore the Golden Gophers 13-9 and not allowing Minnesota back-to-back points. Robinson, Hartman and Jesewitz each had a pair of kills and RU limited the Gophers to hitting .161.

• The Rutgers volleyball team is back at home at Jersey Mike's Arena on Sunday, Oct. 20 against No. 16 USC at 1 p.m. RU alumnae will be honored between sets two and three while current members of the Scarlet Knights will be singing autographs on the concourse following the match.