PISCATAWAY, N.J.  – Big Ten volleyball action is back "On The Banks" and the Scarlet Knights make their first two appearances on national television this week.

Rutgers welcomes Iowa in the Big Ten opener at Jersey Mike's Arena on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. and travels to Ann Arbor to face Michigan at Cliff Keen Arena on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Both games will air live on BTN with Chris Vosters and Mac Podraza calling all the action against the Hawkeyes and Vosters joining Elena Shklya for the call with the Wolverines.

Admission to all home Rutgers volleyball games is free.

    
 

GAME DAY INFO

  

Venue:	Jersey Mikes Arena - Piscataway N.J. | Cliff Keen Arena - Ann Arbor, Mich.
Game Notes:	Rutgers | Iowa | Michigan
Statistics:	Rutgers | Iowa | Michigan | Big Ten
Schedule:	Thursday, Sept. 26 vs. Iowa - 6:00 p.m. BTN | Video (Fox Sports App) | Live Stats Sunday, Sept. 29 vs. Michigan - 5:00 p.m. BTN | Video (Fox Sports App) | Live Stats
Social Media:	Facebook | X | Instagram

         

ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS

• Rutgers split matches in straight sets last weekend at the ODU Invitational falling to the host Monarchs who entered the weekend on a five-match win streak while besting UMES in the first-ever meeting with the Hawks.
• Natalie Robinson and Krista Dooley were both named to the all-tournament team. Robinson collected 10 kills, two aces and four blocks across the two matches, while Dooley posted five kills and five blocks.
• Against ODU, Robinson put away six kills along with a trio of blocks. RU collected seven aces with Bolen and Alissa Kinkela each serving up a pair. Anna Hartman and Alleigh Dutton led the defense with five digs each.
• In RU's fifth sweep of the season against UMES ending nonconference action Rutgers served up 13 aces with five different Scarlet Knights serving up a point from the service line, with four Knights with multiple aces. RU was led by a career-high five aces from Lexi Visintine. Visintine and Avery Jesewitz led RU in kills with nine. while Aly Borellis set the offense up with a season-high tying 23 assists. On defense, it was  Dooley with three blocks as well as Dutton leading the way in digs for the second-consecutive match with nine.

ACE THIS NOTE

• With her five aces last weekend, Lily Bolen is up to 23 aces on the season thru 11 matches. She is four aces away from joining the RU freshman top five list. Additionally, her efforts at the service line currently have her averaging 0.66 per set ranking her 10th in the Big Ten and 20th in the country.
• In the nonconference finale with UMES last Friday, RU served up 13 aces, marking the fourth most in a match and second most in a three-set match by the Scarlet Knights in the rally era. It was the most aces in a match since also serving up 13 aces against FDU on Sept. 17, 2022, and the most in a three-set match since capturing 13 aces against Buffalo on Sept. 2, 2017. 
• RU was led by a career-high five aces from Lexi Visintine against the Hawks, marking the eighth most in a match and second most in a three-set match by a Scarlet Knights in the rally era. 

SCOUTING IOWA

• The Hawkeyes come into the match with a 6-5 overall record coming off 3-1 losses to Saint Louis and Drake and a five-set victory over South Dakota last weekend. 
• On the attack is Malu Garcia leads with 2.75 k/s supported by Dominique Phillips with 2.29 k/s. Jenna Meitzler directs the offense with the team with 10.00 a/s ranking ninth in the conference.
• Joy Galles tops the team and is sixth in th Big Ten with 3.81 d/s for the defense while Hannah Whittingstall averages 1.32 blocks per set having totaled 58 stops at the net this season.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN

• Michigan enters the week at 10-1 overall after opening the 2024 campaign with nine consecutive wins. The Wolverine's lone setback this season was a five-set loss at North Carolina last Friday before bouncing back with a sweep of Duke at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Michigan will open conference play on Friday at home with Michigan State before welcoming the Scarlet Knights.
• Offensively, Allison Jacobs is seventh in the conference leading the Wolverines with 3.98 k/s while Valentina Vaulet contributes 2.94 k/s. Morgan Burke averages 9.93 a/s just inside the conference's top 10 in the category.
• Defensively, Maddi Cuchran checks in third in the conference with 4.05 d/s  and Serena Nyambio Taylor and Jacque Boney anchor the team at the net with 43 and 41 total blocks respectively.

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.
• More success continued in 2022 as 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 while altogether Rutgers had 11 entries among the rally-era season leaders list.
• Another step up the ladder occurred last year as the Scarlet Knights earned their first-ever All-Big Ten attacker, captured their first-ever top 25 victory, collected the most overall wins and best nonconference record since 2012, improved set wins by 45% over the previous season and set a school record in attendance.  RU placed 12 entries into the rally-era individual season top 10 records and 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.  

UP NEXT

• Rutgers volleyball is back home and back on BTN next week hosting No. 7 Wisconsin on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. with Jason Knapp and Emily Ehman on the call.
• The Scarlet Knights will also travel to Maryland on Saturday, Oct. 5 meeting the Terps at 7 p.m. 

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