PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers volleyball is back home this week, meeting Michigan at Jersey Mike's Arena on Friday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. and wrapping up the season series with Ohio State on Sunday, Nov. 9, at 1 p.m. at the College Ave Gym.

Click here to purchase tickets for Friday's match with the Wolverines at Jersey Mike's Arena. Admission is free to RU's match with Ohio State on Sunday at the College Ave Gym.  
 
   
 

GAME DAY INFO

 

Venue:	Friday: Jersey Mike's Arena - Piscataway, N.J. Sunday: College Ave Gym - New Brunswick, N.J.
Tickets:	Click Here To Purchase Tickets For Jersey Mike's Arena Free Admission To College Ave Gym
Parking:	Jersey Mike's Arena: Livingston Campus - Green/Yellow Lot College Ave Gym: Lot 30, Lot 26 & College Ave Parking Deck
Game Notes:	Rutgers | Michigan | Ohio State
Statistics:	Rutgers | Michigan | Ohio State | Big Ten
Schedule:	Friday, Nov. 7 vs. Michigan - 7 p.m. (ET) Jersey Mike's Arena B1G+  | Live Stats Sunday, Nov. 9 vs. Ohio State - 1 p.m. (ET) College Ave Gym B1G+  | Live Stats
Social Media:	Facebook | X | Instagram

                    

ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS

• Rutgers volleyball closed out a four-game road swing last week as the Scarlet Knights downed Ohio State in straight sets, marking not only the first Big Ten victory over the Buckeyes, but also giving RU its eighth sweep of the season and the most sweeps since 2000. The Scarlet Knights dropped their following game at Michigan State, but set two school records with Zora Hardison setting the rally-era career solo blocks record and Lexi Visintine serving the rally-era season record in aces. 
• The Scarlet Knights lead the conference in aces with 162 served up by the squad this season and averaging 1.99 per set to rank 15th nationally in the category. Lexi Visintine continues to lead RU at the line and enters the weekend at the top of the Big Ten with 39 and averaging 0.48 per set to rank 27th nationally in the category. Visintine became RU's rally-era season leader last Sunday at Michigan State. Additionally, last week Visintine led RU in kills with 12 in the victory at Ohio State and 10 against the Spartans.
• Aspen Maxwell, who has picked up two all-tournament nods this nonconference season, including being named the Sacred Heart Invite MVP, is seventh in the league in total points (362.5), sixth in total kills (202) and points per set (4.42) and eighth in kills per set (3.70). Her 3.70 kills per set currently leads all Scarlet Knights in the rally era in a season.
  Lily Bolen is adding 10.01 assists per frame and is 37th nationally and fifth among Big Ten setters in the category. She has collected six double-doubles this season in matches with Marist, Liberty, LIU, Maryland and most recently in back-to-back games at No. 18 Penn State (22a, 10d) and at Iowa (44a, 12d). Bolen also surpassed the 1,000-career assist mark back on Oct. 26 at Iowa.
• Zora Hardison leads RU with the stops at the net with 90 total blocks, including 25 solo stops. She is the Rutgers rally-era career and season leader in solo blocks. She surpassed the 200-career total block total in early October. 
• Alleigh Dutton has led RU in digs in all but one match to date and averages 3.32 per set. At Iowa two weeks ago, Dutton tied her career high for a third time this year with 17 digs and also added a career-high eight helpers.

 

SCOUTING MICHIGAN

• The Wolverines come to Jersey Mike's Arena with a 15-8 overall record and 5-7 mark in the Big Ten. Michigan is coming off a five-set setback against No. 10 Purdue last Sunday, which snapped a three-game win streak that included straight-set victories over Ohio State and Illinois on the road, as well as a home upset against Penn State in five sets.
• On the attack, Allison Jacobs leads the way with 3.99 k/s and a team-leading 26 aces, whi;e Morgan Burke directs the offense at 7.04 a/s.
• At the net, Serena Nyambio had made 106 total blocks, averaging 1.28 per frame, and Maddi Cuchran adds to the defense with 3.39 d/s.

 

SCOUTING OHIO STATE

• The Buckeyes enter the week at 3-17 overall and 0-12 in the Big Ten coming off straight set losses to Rutgers and No. 11 Wisconsin last week. OSU will travel to Maryland on Saturday before coming to the College Ave Gym to face the Scarlet Knights.
• The attack is led by Hannah Jones at 3.45 k/s, directed by Mia Tuman at 8.19 a/s. At the line, Olivia Hasbrook has delivered a team-leading 23 aces. 
• On the block, the Buckeyes are led by Kaia Castle with 71 total stops, while Hasbrook is coming up with a team-leading 3.32 digs per frame.

STAT NOTABLE WATCH

• Zora Hardison is RU's rally-era career and season leader in solo blocks with 45 career solo rejections in her three years "On The Banks" and 25 this season. She needs 10 more solo blocks to join the all-time top ten.
• Hardison ranks eighth on the rally-era career total blocks leaders list with 221 total stops. She needs 30 more to move into seventh past Alex Jones (2009-12). On the rally-era season total blocks list, Hardison needs 11 more rejections to join the top 10.
• Additionally, Hardison is also 15 block assists away from cracking the rally-era career block assist top 10 list.
• Lexi Visintine has served up the most aces in a rally-era season by any Scarlet Knights with 39 to date. She is currently third in rally-era career aces with 94 across her four seasons and needs six more to move into secod past Inna Balyko (2018-21).
• Lily Bolen became the seventh Scarlet Knight of the rally era to crack the 1,000 career mark. With 1,104 assists, she is 11 helpers away from moving into sixth on the rally-era career leaders list past Nicole Bayer (2012-14) and 181 away from moving into fifth past Alyssa Nayar (2022-23).
• Bolen is also ninth on the rally-era season assist leaders list with 821 assists this season. She needs eight more helpers to move into eighth on the list, past Inna Balyko (2021), and 66 more to move past Balyko (2019) into seventh.
• Natalie Robinson continues to move up in the block charts as well. With 25 career solo blocks, she is seventh in the rally era and needs two more to move past Inna Balyko (2018-21) into sixth. Her 12 solo stops this season place her ninth in the rally-era and needs two more to move into eighth past Hannah Curtis (2011), three more to surpass Mikaela Matthews (2013) for seventh and four more to move into sixth past Kristina Grkovic (2022). 
• Aspen Maxwell, whose 3.70 kills per set currently leads the Scarlet Knights rally-era season list, is on the rally-era season points leaders list in the eighth spot as her 303 kills, 26 aces & 62 blocks have given her 362.5 points this season. She needs 5.5 more points to move into seventh past Meme Fletcher (2015), 10 more points to surpass Alex Jones (2012) for sixth, and 17.5 to move into fifth past Alissa Kinkela (2024).

 

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 firsts 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 Rutgers had 11 entries altogether among the rally-era season leaders list.
• Another step up the ladder occurred in 2023 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.  
• Last season, a youthful Scarlet Knight squad continued to rewrite the Rutgers record book, putting up several notable career and season numbers as the Big Ten expanded to the West Coast. On the attack, Alissa Kinkela, the squad's first-ever All-Big Ten attacker from 2023 and an Australian Olympic hopeful, cracked the top 10 all-time in career kills, the second most rally-era career kills and the third most rally-era career kills per set. Following the season, Kinkela signed to play professionally in South Korea. In addition to Kinkela's mark in the record book, Rutgers put nine entries into the rally-era individual season top 10 records, with a new benchmark set for blocks in a rally-era season from rookie Natalie Robinson. Additionally, Robinson leads RU's career blocks per set category after only one season "On The Banks". At the same time, junior Lexi Visintine was just two aces shy of setting a new season standard in the category.

UP NEXT

• Rutgers volleyball partakes in its final road games of the year, traveling to the West Coast to meet up with No. 17 USC on Friday, Nov. 14 and UCLA on Saturday, Nov. 15 in Los Angeles and No. 18 Indiana on Thursday, Nov. 20.
• The Scarlet Knights return home to wrap up the season series with Minnesota in front of the BTN cameras on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 4:30 p.m. Click here to purchase tickets.

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