PISCATAWAY, N.J. – For the second straight year, Rutgers volleyball battled Michigan to five sets.

While the Scarlet Knights came out on top in the first two sets with 25-23 and 25-22 victories, the Wolverines came back with 25-21, 27-25 and 15-13 wins in the next three to take the win.
 

• Four Scarlet Knights swung for double-figure kills led by senior Lexi Visintine for the third consecutive contest. Visintine posted 18 kills, hitting .317 for the night, and added seven digs.
• Sophomore Aspen Maxwell was right behind Visintine in the kills column with 17 kills and hitting .375 for the evening. The right side also added seven digs, four blocks and an ace.
• Senior Tara Garvey recorded 11 kills and a trio of blocks, while junior Zora Hardison notched 10 kills to go along with her team-best five blocks.
• Sophomore Lily Bolen logged her ninth career double-double and seventh of the season behind 50 assists and 10 digs. She also added a pair of aces
• Two other Scarlet Knights landed in double-figure digs as well. Classmate Alleigh Dutton was one off her career mark with a team-leading 16 digs, while junior Jenna DeLaMater tied her season-high with 10.

• SET 1 (25-23) | An early 3-0 burst is what it took for Rutgers to go in front and stay ahead. Tied at 6-6, Lexi Visintine gave the Scarlet Knights the lead for good on one of her four kills as RU rattled off the next three. RU pushed its lead out to 16-12 and 18-14, but Michigan came back to close the gap to within a point, trailing 19-18 and 21-20.  The Scarlet Knights, however, refused to let the lead change hands as swings from Tara Garvey and Aspen Maxwell kept Rutgers in front at 23-20 and Hardison on the hammer sealed the win.

• SET 2 (25-22) | One of six Zora Hardison kills not only put RU into double figures, but pushed the Scarlet Knight out front for good. Hardison's swing began a 9-4 run that gave Rutgers an 18-13 edge, its largest advantage of the frame. The Wolverines pulled within a pair of points late at 23-21, but Lily Bolen and Visintine came through at the end to give the Scarlet Knights the 2-0 edge.

• SET 3 (21-25) | A surge at the midway point pushed the Wolverines out front for their first set win of the night. Michigan employed a 10-3 run to take a 19-15 edge. The two squads traded the next seven points, and a Maxwell kill brought RU within a pair of 22-20, but the Wolverines would not relinquish their edge, ending the frame hitting .405. Maxwell ended the set hitting .600 with six kills on 10 attacks.

• SET 4 (25-27) | Rutgers hit a match-best .366, but Michigan connected at a .439 clip in a frame that was all knotted up on 10 occasions. The Scarlet Knights bounced back from a five-point deficit, trailing 14-9, to find themselves all even at 19-19. RU rattled off four consecutive points to knot the score behind kills from Natalie Robinson, Maxwell, Visintine and capped the burst with Maxwell and Robinson on the block. From there, the set was tied up six times. Robinson came through with the kill for the set's final tie at 25-25 before Michigan put it away to force the fifth and deciding frame.

• SET 5 (13-15) | The Scarlet Knights opened with a 7-2 edge and were leading 12-6 when the visitors made their move. The Wolverines closed out the match by outscoring RU 9-1 and notching seven unanswered points at the end.

• Rutgers volleyball is back in action on Sunday, Nov. 9 at the College Ave Gym to wrap up the season series with Ohio State. Admission to the College Ave Gym is free with parking available in Lots 30 and 26 as well as the College Ave Parking Deck.