Zora Hardison & Aly Borellis To Attend Big Ten Volleyball Media Day
Jul 22 | Women's Volleyball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Rutgers head volleyball Caitlin Schweihofer will be joined by sophomore middle blocker Zora Hardison and junior setter Aly Borellis in the third annual Big Ten Media Day to be held August, 5-6 at the Big Ten Network studios in Chicago.
The trio will join host Rick Pizzo and analysts Holly McPeak and Elena Shklay live on BTN at 2:40 p.m. on Monday, August 5 to discuss the upcoming 2024 season.
The Big Ten was the first collegiate conference to host an in-person preseason volleyball media event, providing yet another example of the Big Ten's commitment to elevating women's sports.
Schweihofer enters her fifth season "On The Banks" and has established the Rutgers program as a team on the rise. In 2023, the team was honored with its first-ever All-Big Ten attacker, captured the most wins and best nonconference record since 2012, improved its set win total by 45% over the previous season and set a school record in attendance. The Scarlet Knights collected the most kills and most digs as a program since 2012, the highest serve percentage since 2016 and the most assists since 2018. The Scarlet Knights placed 12 entries into the rally-era individual season top 10 records, 13 entries into the rally-era team top 10 records while collecting the most sets played, kills, assists, assists per set, digs and solo blocks by a team in conference play since joining the Big Ten in 2014. Rutgers improved its attendance by 50% while setting a program record of 6,757 in attendance at Jersey Mike's Arena when facing No. 1 Nebraska on Nov. 5. Additionally, Schweihofer registered her 100th career victory.
A 6-2, Palm Bay, Florida product, Hardison moved into the starting rotation in the final 10 matches of the season last year as a freshman. She collected a season-high eight blocks, including three solo stops, in a five-set victory over Iowa and hit a season-best .833 (10-0-12) versus Michigan marking the best-hitting percentage by an RU player in a four-set match in 2023.
A 5-10, Rochester, Michigan, native, Borellis joins the Scarlet Knights after spending the last two seasons at Ole Miss where she was fifth all-time in the rally scoring era with 1,767 career assists and an SEC All-Freshman Team member in 2022. Last year as a sophomore, Borellis averaged 9.61 assists per set topping the 40-assist mark in a set on seven occasions. She also helped the Rebels to a single-match program record hitting percentage of .488 against Alcorn State and posted a career-high 62 assists in a five-set victory over South Carolina, the second most by a player in Ole Miss history in a single match in the rally-scoring era. As a freshman, Borellis averaged 9.40 helpers per set to rank 13th nationally among freshmen and sixth in the SEC.
Nine Big Ten Conference volleyball programs (Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers and Wisconsin) will arrive at the Big Ten Network on Monday, Aug. 5 for a series of interview sessions and other creative content opportunities to preview the 2024 volleyball season. The remaining nine Big Ten Conference programs (Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Purdue, UCLA, USC and Washington) will go through a similar schedule at Big Ten Network on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Along with their media schedules, student-athletes, and coaches from all 18 Big Ten Conference volleyball programs will gather on the evening of Monday, Aug. 5, for an exclusive dinner and reception, celebrating the success and future promise of Big Ten volleyball.
The Big Ten Conference had six schools earn berths into last year's NCAA Tournament and led the nation with five schools receiving top-16 seeds. At least one Big Ten program has advanced to the NCAA national semifinals in 15 of the past 16 seasons, reaching the title match 12 times and winning nine national championships since 2007.
The trio will join host Rick Pizzo and analysts Holly McPeak and Elena Shklay live on BTN at 2:40 p.m. on Monday, August 5 to discuss the upcoming 2024 season.
The Big Ten was the first collegiate conference to host an in-person preseason volleyball media event, providing yet another example of the Big Ten's commitment to elevating women's sports.
Schweihofer enters her fifth season "On The Banks" and has established the Rutgers program as a team on the rise. In 2023, the team was honored with its first-ever All-Big Ten attacker, captured the most wins and best nonconference record since 2012, improved its set win total by 45% over the previous season and set a school record in attendance. The Scarlet Knights collected the most kills and most digs as a program since 2012, the highest serve percentage since 2016 and the most assists since 2018. The Scarlet Knights placed 12 entries into the rally-era individual season top 10 records, 13 entries into the rally-era team top 10 records while collecting the most sets played, kills, assists, assists per set, digs and solo blocks by a team in conference play since joining the Big Ten in 2014. Rutgers improved its attendance by 50% while setting a program record of 6,757 in attendance at Jersey Mike's Arena when facing No. 1 Nebraska on Nov. 5. Additionally, Schweihofer registered her 100th career victory.
A 6-2, Palm Bay, Florida product, Hardison moved into the starting rotation in the final 10 matches of the season last year as a freshman. She collected a season-high eight blocks, including three solo stops, in a five-set victory over Iowa and hit a season-best .833 (10-0-12) versus Michigan marking the best-hitting percentage by an RU player in a four-set match in 2023.
A 5-10, Rochester, Michigan, native, Borellis joins the Scarlet Knights after spending the last two seasons at Ole Miss where she was fifth all-time in the rally scoring era with 1,767 career assists and an SEC All-Freshman Team member in 2022. Last year as a sophomore, Borellis averaged 9.61 assists per set topping the 40-assist mark in a set on seven occasions. She also helped the Rebels to a single-match program record hitting percentage of .488 against Alcorn State and posted a career-high 62 assists in a five-set victory over South Carolina, the second most by a player in Ole Miss history in a single match in the rally-scoring era. As a freshman, Borellis averaged 9.40 helpers per set to rank 13th nationally among freshmen and sixth in the SEC.
Nine Big Ten Conference volleyball programs (Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers and Wisconsin) will arrive at the Big Ten Network on Monday, Aug. 5 for a series of interview sessions and other creative content opportunities to preview the 2024 volleyball season. The remaining nine Big Ten Conference programs (Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Purdue, UCLA, USC and Washington) will go through a similar schedule at Big Ten Network on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Along with their media schedules, student-athletes, and coaches from all 18 Big Ten Conference volleyball programs will gather on the evening of Monday, Aug. 5, for an exclusive dinner and reception, celebrating the success and future promise of Big Ten volleyball.
The Big Ten Conference had six schools earn berths into last year's NCAA Tournament and led the nation with five schools receiving top-16 seeds. At least one Big Ten program has advanced to the NCAA national semifinals in 15 of the past 16 seasons, reaching the title match 12 times and winning nine national championships since 2007.
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