CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Rutgers volleyball kicked off its final Big Ten weekend with a straight-set setback at Illinois on Friday afternoon at Huff Hall.

The Scarlet Knights fell 25-18, 25-6, 25-14.

• Redshirt junior Alissa Kinkela led RU with six kills as she continues to move closer to becoming the Scarlet Knights' rally-era leader in career kills. She is currently 30 away from the milestone.
• Also for the offense, sophomore Anna Hartman added five kills and freshman Lily Bolen came up with eight helpers.
• Sophomore Zora Hardison led the block with four stops while freshman Avery Jereswitz made three blocks, including a solo stop.
• Sophomore Kenize Dyrstad and junior Aly Borellis registered five digs apiece.

• SET 1 (18-25) | Zora Hardison brought the hammer straight down the middle as Rutgers scored three of four points to trail 12-9. While Illinois upped their lead to 16-9, Rutgers collected three points off consecutive Illini errors to follow. It would be, however, the closest the Scarlet Knights would get. Anna Hartman and Alissa Kinkela both had three kills apiece for RU.

S1 | Straight ⬇️ the middle
.#GoRU pic.twitter.com/aYTaM9ikBy

— Rutgers Volleyball (@RUvball) November 22, 2024

• SET 2 (6-25) |  Rutgers was unable to overcome Illinois' hot start as they hit.636 and jumped out to a 15-4 advantage. Kinkela added three more kills to her total.

• SET 3 (14-25) | The Scarlet Knights held a 4-2 edge to start thanks in part to back-to-back service aces from Lexi Visintine. Blocks from Hardison and Kinkela gave RU a 6-4 lead, but the Illii followed with a 5-1 run to take the lead at 8-7. A Hartman/Hardison combo at the net followed by a swing from Visintine returned the lead to RU at 9-9, but Illinois generated seven of the next eight for a 15-10 advantage and a lead they would not relinquish. In addition to her pair of aces, Visintine added a trio of kills in the frame.

S3 | Lily 🤝 ➡️ Lexi 📍💥
.#GoRU ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/4o43iasldW

— Rutgers Volleyball (@RUvball) November 22, 2024

• The Rutgers volleyball team will travel to Northwestern on Saturday, November 23 taking on the Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena at 8 p.m. (ET) in their final Big Ten road tilt. The Scarlet Knights will return home to host No. 4 Penn State on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at Jersey Mike's Arena and Maryland on Friday, Nov. 29 at the College Ave Gym. Admission to all Rutgers home games is free.