Thursday, November 5
Piscataway, N.J.
7:00 PM
Rutgers
vs
Michigan
Photo by: Anna Griffin
Nov 03 | Women's Volleyball
PISCATAWAY, N.J.Ā ā Rutgers volleyball is back at Jersey Mike's Arena for its final homestand of the 2026 season. The four-game stretch begins with Michigan on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. and USC on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on B1G+.
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Individual Rally-Era Career
Individual Rally-Era Season
Class Records
Take a look at the climb during the Caitlin Schweihofer Era of Rutgers volleyball.
- 2026 -
Rutgers entered Big Ten action with a 9-3 nonconference record for the second-straight season, tying for the most nonconference victories of the Caitlin Schweihofer Era. During nonconference action, Zharia Harris WaddyĀ hit .833 (10-0-12) against Rider to set a new Rutgers record in hitting percentage, besting the previous Rutgers mark of .700 (14-0-20) in a 3-0 win over Cleveland St. on Sept. 10, 2016 by Lauren Cloyd.Ā RU also completed its first reverse sweep since 2022 in a 3-2 win Bryant. The Scarlet Knights opened conference play at #1 Nebraska in its closest match with the Cornhuskers since 2021.Ā Rutgers hit .318 in the first set against a Nebraska defense that was only allowing opponents to hit a nationwide low .081. In the second set, the Scarlet Knights turned a 23-13 deficit into a 9-1 run and thwarted set point four times. RU also topped Ohio State on the road in a sweep for the second-straight season and took a set off #15 Indiana, marking the first set win over a top 25 opponent since 2023 and first set win over a top 15 opponent since 2021. The Scarlet Knight also managed to take a set off of #11 Purdue, the first set win over the perennial NCAA-bound Boilermakers since 2021.
- 2025 -
Rutgers surpassed its win total from the previous season nine games into the year, fueled by a seven-match win streak, the longest for the squad since 2012. The Scarlet Knights collected sweeps in six of the seven games. Against the Red Flash, RU swung .456, marking the best hitting percentage by the Scarlet Knights in a rally-era match. In nonconference action, RU played to a 9-3 mark with seven sweeps and a 4-0 home mark. In Big Ten action, the Scarlet Knights set not only a school record for attendance, but the 8,000 to witness the Scarlet Knights take on No. 1 Nebraska at Jersey Mike's Arena marked the largest crowd to watch a volleyball match in the state of New Jersey. RU also picked up its first-ever Big Ten win over Ohio State as the sweep marked the most by the program since 2000 and the first time in either Big East or Big Ten play that the Scarlet Knights have held an opponent to under 20 in a match. At the end of the 2025 season, Rutgers had captured the best hitting percentage and most aces of any team during the rally era and had Lexi Visintine set the rally-era season record in aces, becoming only the second Scarlet Knight of the rally era with over 100 career aces. In Big Ten action, the Scarlet Knights posted the most assists and aces in a season since joining the league, with Lily Bolen averaging the most assists per set in a Big Ten season. Additional season stat notables included Visinstine with the most aces since 1988, Aspen Maxwell with the most kills per set since 2009, Natalie Robinson with the best hitting percentage since 2011, Bolen with the most assists and assists per set since 2012, and Maxwell with the most kills since 2013.
- 2024 -
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. Ā At the same time, junior Lexi Visintine was just two aces shy of setting a new season standard in the category.
- 2023 -
More milestones continued for the Scarlet Knight program 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 digs as a program since 2012, the highest serve percentage since 2016 and the most assists since 2018. Alissa Kinkela, who led the team in kills, was named Second Team All-Big Ten. 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. Senior libero Madyson Chitty finished her career fifth all-time in career digs and senior middle blocker Kristina Grkovic concluded her career fifth all-time in hitting percentage while setting the rally-era record for solo blocks in a season and career. 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, head coach Caitlin Schweihofer registered her 100th career victory.
- 2022 -
The fall of 2022 saw RU 3-0 for the first time since 1998, with four Scarlet Knights named to All-Tournament squads. By the season's end, Rutgers had 11 entries on the rally-era season leaders list, including tying the record for most kills in a rally-era three-set match and graduate student transfer Megan Vernon, who wrapped up her career ranked second in the rally era in solo blocks in only two seasons as a Scarlet Knight.
- 2021 -
The second season of the Caitlin Schweihofer era saw the Scarlet Knights move a majority of its home games to Jersey Mike's Arena (formerly known as The RAC), playing members of the nation's top conference in the 8,000-seat arena. Rutgers captured set wins over #8 Purdue and #15 Penn State and took Illinois to five sets in front of a national audience on BTN.Ā
- SPRING 2021 -
In Caitlin Schweihofer's first season "On The Banks", played in the spring due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights established themselves as a program on the rise with numerous program and Big Ten firsts. Among the Scarlet Knights' spring 2021 accomplishments were the first-ever All-Big Ten honoree, the first-ever home-opening Big Ten victory, the first-ever Big Ten series sweep, set victories over more than one Top 10 program, along with the team's first-ever wins over Indiana and Michigan State. RU established new team, season and match records for aces, reset program Big Ten game bests in kills, attempts, attack percentage and assists and collected individual conference superlatives in attack percentage, assists and digs.
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| MATCH DAY INFO |
| Venue: | Jersey Mike's Arena - Piscataway, N.J. |
| Tickets:Ā | Rutgers Volleyball Ticket Central |
| Parking: | Green & Yellow LotsĀ |
| Michigan Match Promos: | * TBT - Throwback Thursday Night |
| USC Match Promos: | * Superhero Day * Rutgers Superhero Masks while supplies last |
| Game Notes: | RutgersĀ | Michigan | USC |
| Statistics: | Rutgers | Michigan | USCĀ |Ā Big Ten |
| Schedule: | Thursday, Nov. 5 vs. RV Michigan - 7:00 p.m. (ET) Video (BTN+) |Ā Live Stats Saturday, Nov. 7 vs. USCĀ - 1:00 p.m. (ET) Video (BTN+) |Ā Live Stats Ā |
| Social Media: | Facebook | XĀ | Instagram |
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| ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS |
- Rutgers went 1-1 last week, taking a set off #11 Purdue in West Lafayette last Thursday for the first time since 2021 and emerging with a five-set victory over Northwestern on Saturday.
- Against the Boilermakers, RU took the third set, 25-16, as the Scarlet Knights led from start to finish. The frame kicked off with Rutgers taking an 8-2 advantage and pushed out to a double-digit lead at 22-12.Ā Purdue hit just .065 while the Scarlet Knights hit .300 with only two miscues on 30 swings. Ā After a Baldwin dump set to put RU at set point, the Boilermakers got their first back-to-back points with a 3-0 run before a service error gave the Scarlet Knights the set.
- The Scarlet Knights followed by turning a 2-1 deficit against the Wildcats into a five-set victory.Ā After RutgersĀ took the first set, 25-23, NorthwesternĀ claimed a 25-22 set two win and a 25-23 set three victory. While NUĀ had a chance to take the match leading 24-21 in the fourth frame, Rutgers came back with five unanswered points en route to the 26-24 win. RU never trailed in set five, taking the win with a 15-12 fifth-set victory. Malia Romes punched in a career-high 22 kills as one of four Scarlet Knights with double-digit kills. Karis Willow also collected a career-high 16 kills and Avery Jesewitz swung for a season-high 10 kills. Skylar George posted 15 kills and added a team-leading 16 digs for a double-double and Lily Bolen also recorded a double-double behind 23 assists and 10 digs. Brooke Baldwin also had a career-high with her 41 assists.Ā On the block, Rutgers totaled 14 blocks, the most in Big Ten action this season and the most since their non-conference finale, a five-set win at St. John's. Zharia Harris-WaddyĀ made a season-high six stops.
- Romes continues to lead the Scarlet Knights with 2.74Ā kills per set, while George is dropping in 2.58Ā per set and Karis Willow adding 2.25 per set. Romes hasĀ led RU in kills in 10Ā contests and reached double-figure kills in 14. George, meanwhile, has sevenĀ double-doubles this season, while leading the Scarlet Knights on the attack eightĀ times with 13Ā double-figure kill matches, including eightĀ of the last 10.
- Setting up the attack are Brooke Baldwin at 5.61 assists per set and Lily Bolen atĀ 5.13Ā helpers per frame in the two-setter system. Bolen also leads the squad in double-doubles with eightĀ this season.
- Bolen is also a Scarlet Knight to watch at the service line and is nearing the 100 career ace mark. Bolen has 27Ā aces to her credit this season, including five served up against Bellarmine and LIU. She is fourĀ aces away from becoming the third Scarlet Knight of the rally era with 100 or more aces in a career. RU will also look to Karis Willow, who is third in the Big Ten with 35Ā aces,Ā including seven served up against Bellarmine. As a team, Rutgers has served up a Big Ten second-best 158Ā on the season.
- Defensively, ImaniHowell leads the block with 78Ā total stops, 17Ā solo blocks and 1.13Ā rejections per set. Howell capturedĀ nine blocks in RU's finalĀ nonconference outing, a 3-2 win at St. John's. Natalie Robinson has put upĀ team-second-best 69Ā stops.
- RU will also look to Kenzie Dyrstad onĀ defense with her 3.30Ā digs per set and Alleigh Dutton at 1.18 digs per set, including a season-high eight digs in matches with RV UCLA, #20 Washington, RV Michigan State and RV Illinois.Ā
| SCOUTING MICHIGAN |
- The Spartans come to New JerseyĀ at 14-9 overall and 5-7 in the Big Ten coming off a 3-1 loss at home against Nebraska, taking a 28-26 first-set win off the top-ranked Cornhuskers, and a 3-1 upset win of #19Ā Indiana.
- Ella Demetrician leads MichiganĀ with 4.29 kills per set and ranks third in the conference in the category. Following on the stat sheet isĀ Cymarah Gordon at 3.36 kills per set. Morgan Burke is putting up 6.55 assists per set along with a team-leading 29 aces.Ā Camille Edwards also adds 4.60 helpers per frame.
- On defense, the Spartans will look to Ece Senyapici with 88 total blocks, averaging 1.04 per set and Meredith Marting at 3.96 digs per set.
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| SCOUTING USC |
- The Trojans enter the week at 9-13 overall and 3-9 in Big Ten action and will take on Maryland on Thursday night before making their way to Jersey Mike's Arena. Following a five-set win at Iowa back on Oct. 22, USC has lost three straight to top-25 opponents, including a 3-0 set back at Nebraska, a 3-1 loss toĀ Wisconsin and a 3-0 loss versusĀ Minnesota.
- The attack goes through Abigail Mullen at 3.14 kills per set and London Wijay at 3.08 kills per frame. Lilli EtterĀ and Millly McGee direct the attack with 6.67 and 6.42 assists, respectively. Etter also leads the Trojans with 19 service aces.
- Mia Tvrdy is nearing the 100-block mark on the season with 93 to date, averaging 1.58 per stanza. Additionally, the defense is led by Taylor Deckert with 3.39 digs per set.
| STAT NOTABLE WATCH |
Individual Rally-Era Career
- Lily Bolen needs threeĀ more aces to pass Inna Balyko (2018-21) for third in rally-era career aces. She currently has 97Ā career aces.
- Lily Bolen needs 1,606Ā more assists to climb to secondĀ in rally-era career assists past Inna Balyko (2018-21). She currently has 1,827Ā career assists.
- Natalie Robinson needs threeĀ more solo blocks to move into fourth in rally-era career solo blocks, surpassing Mikaela Mattherws (2012-16). She currently has 33Ā career solo blocks.Ā
- Natalie Robinson needs 11Ā more blocks to move into sixthĀ on the rally-era career total blocks list past Hannah Curtis (2008-11).Ā She currently has 261Ā career total blocks.
- Natalie Robinson needs fiveĀ more block assistsĀ to move into sixth on the rally-era career block assist list, past Hannah Curtis (2008-11). She currently has 227Ā career block assists.
- Kenzie Dyrstad needs 97Ā more digs to move into seventhĀ in rally-era career digs past Beka Kojadinovic (2017-21). She currently has 767Ā career digs.
- Aspen Maxwell needs 134Ā points to enter the rally-era career points top ten. She currently has 623.5Ā points in her career.
Individual Rally-Era Season
- Karis Willow needs threeĀ more aces to move into fourthĀ in rally-era season aces past Jenna DeLaMater (2025) and Lexi Visintine (2024). She currently has 35Ā aces on the season
- Lily Bolen needs fiveĀ more aces to join the rally-era season top 10 list for a second time. She currently has 27Ā aces on the season. Her 38 aces as a sophomore in 2025 areĀ third on the list.
- Imani Howell needs two more solo blocks to move into fourthĀ in rally-era season solo blocks past Megan Vernon (2022) and Shealyn McNamara (2021). She currently has 17Ā solo stops on the season.
- Natalie Robinson needs three more solo blocks to move into 10th in the rally-era season solo blocks. She currently has nine solo stops. Robinson already appears twice on the list at tenth with 12 stops in 2025 and eighth with 13 solo blocks in 2024.Ā
- Kenzie Dyrstad needs 63 more digs to join the rally-era season top 10 list.Ā
- Rutgers needs 32 more aces to set a new rally-era school record for aces in a season. The record of 189 was set by last year's team.
Class Records
- Malia Romes needs fourĀ more kills toĀ move into eighth on theĀ Rutgers freshman top 10 kills list past Kamila Cieslik (2017). She currently has 255Ā kills.
- Brooke Baldwin needs 31 more assists to move into sixth on the Rutgers freshman top 10 assist list past Megan Sharkey (2016). She currently has 522 assists.
- Imani Howell needs four more blocks to join the Rutgers sophomore top 10 list in blocks. She currently has 78 blocks.
- Skylar George needs nine more kills to join the Rutgers junior top 10 list in kills.
- Lily Bolen needs 42Ā more assists to move into eighth on the Rutgers junior assist list past Aly Borellis (2024). She currently has 477Ā assists.
- Lily Bolen needs five more aces to join the Rutgers junior top 10 list in aces. She currently has 27 aces.
- Kenzie Dyrstad needs 19Ā more digs to move into ninth on the Rutgers senior top 10 digs list. She currently has 288.
- Karis Willow needs threeĀ more aces to move into fourth on the Rutgers senior top aces list past Courtney Stout (2005). She currently has 35Ā aces.Ā Ā
| RUTGERS ON THE RISE |
Take a look at the climb during the Caitlin Schweihofer Era of Rutgers volleyball.
- 2026 -
Rutgers entered Big Ten action with a 9-3 nonconference record for the second-straight season, tying for the most nonconference victories of the Caitlin Schweihofer Era. During nonconference action, Zharia Harris WaddyĀ hit .833 (10-0-12) against Rider to set a new Rutgers record in hitting percentage, besting the previous Rutgers mark of .700 (14-0-20) in a 3-0 win over Cleveland St. on Sept. 10, 2016 by Lauren Cloyd.Ā RU also completed its first reverse sweep since 2022 in a 3-2 win Bryant. The Scarlet Knights opened conference play at #1 Nebraska in its closest match with the Cornhuskers since 2021.Ā Rutgers hit .318 in the first set against a Nebraska defense that was only allowing opponents to hit a nationwide low .081. In the second set, the Scarlet Knights turned a 23-13 deficit into a 9-1 run and thwarted set point four times. RU also topped Ohio State on the road in a sweep for the second-straight season and took a set off #15 Indiana, marking the first set win over a top 25 opponent since 2023 and first set win over a top 15 opponent since 2021. The Scarlet Knight also managed to take a set off of #11 Purdue, the first set win over the perennial NCAA-bound Boilermakers since 2021.
- 2025 -
Rutgers surpassed its win total from the previous season nine games into the year, fueled by a seven-match win streak, the longest for the squad since 2012. The Scarlet Knights collected sweeps in six of the seven games. Against the Red Flash, RU swung .456, marking the best hitting percentage by the Scarlet Knights in a rally-era match. In nonconference action, RU played to a 9-3 mark with seven sweeps and a 4-0 home mark. In Big Ten action, the Scarlet Knights set not only a school record for attendance, but the 8,000 to witness the Scarlet Knights take on No. 1 Nebraska at Jersey Mike's Arena marked the largest crowd to watch a volleyball match in the state of New Jersey. RU also picked up its first-ever Big Ten win over Ohio State as the sweep marked the most by the program since 2000 and the first time in either Big East or Big Ten play that the Scarlet Knights have held an opponent to under 20 in a match. At the end of the 2025 season, Rutgers had captured the best hitting percentage and most aces of any team during the rally era and had Lexi Visintine set the rally-era season record in aces, becoming only the second Scarlet Knight of the rally era with over 100 career aces. In Big Ten action, the Scarlet Knights posted the most assists and aces in a season since joining the league, with Lily Bolen averaging the most assists per set in a Big Ten season. Additional season stat notables included Visinstine with the most aces since 1988, Aspen Maxwell with the most kills per set since 2009, Natalie Robinson with the best hitting percentage since 2011, Bolen with the most assists and assists per set since 2012, and Maxwell with the most kills since 2013.
- 2024 -
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. Ā At the same time, junior Lexi Visintine was just two aces shy of setting a new season standard in the category.
- 2023 -
More milestones continued for the Scarlet Knight program 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 digs as a program since 2012, the highest serve percentage since 2016 and the most assists since 2018. Alissa Kinkela, who led the team in kills, was named Second Team All-Big Ten. 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. Senior libero Madyson Chitty finished her career fifth all-time in career digs and senior middle blocker Kristina Grkovic concluded her career fifth all-time in hitting percentage while setting the rally-era record for solo blocks in a season and career. 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, head coach Caitlin Schweihofer registered her 100th career victory.
- 2022 -
The fall of 2022 saw RU 3-0 for the first time since 1998, with four Scarlet Knights named to All-Tournament squads. By the season's end, Rutgers had 11 entries on the rally-era season leaders list, including tying the record for most kills in a rally-era three-set match and graduate student transfer Megan Vernon, who wrapped up her career ranked second in the rally era in solo blocks in only two seasons as a Scarlet Knight.
- 2021 -
The second season of the Caitlin Schweihofer era saw the Scarlet Knights move a majority of its home games to Jersey Mike's Arena (formerly known as The RAC), playing members of the nation's top conference in the 8,000-seat arena. Rutgers captured set wins over #8 Purdue and #15 Penn State and took Illinois to five sets in front of a national audience on BTN.Ā
- SPRING 2021 -
In Caitlin Schweihofer's first season "On The Banks", played in the spring due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights established themselves as a program on the rise with numerous program and Big Ten firsts. Among the Scarlet Knights' spring 2021 accomplishments were the first-ever All-Big Ten honoree, the first-ever home-opening Big Ten victory, the first-ever Big Ten series sweep, set victories over more than one Top 10 program, along with the team's first-ever wins over Indiana and Michigan State. RU established new team, season and match records for aces, reset program Big Ten game bests in kills, attempts, attack percentage and assists and collected individual conference superlatives in attack percentage, assists and digs.
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| AT THE NET |
- Watch the BTN "At The Net" feature on junior setter Lily Bolen on setting standards on and off the court with her commitment to giving back and helping Rutgers earn the 2026 NACDA Community Service Award.
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| SISTER-SISTER |
- Nebraska natives Kenzie and Kami Dyrstad are among the 10 teams featuring siblings in the same program.Ā
| School | Sister #1 | Sister #2 |
| Rutgers | Kenzie Dyrstad (senior - L/DS) | Kami Dyrstad (freshman - L/DS) |
| St. John's | Kya Harris (junior - MB) | Sumaiyya Harris (freshman - MB/OPP) |
| Fresno State | Olivia Lombardi (r-junior - L) | Gabby Lombardi (r-sophomore S) |
| IU Indy | Kate White (senior - OPP) | Lauren White (freshman- S) |
| Louisiana Tech | Anaya Hairston (senior - MB) | Gabrielle Hairston (junior - OH/RS) |
| Montana | Sydney Pierce (junior - MB) | Brooklyn Pierce (freshman - MB) |
| Northern Iowa | Molly Shafer (sophomore - OH/OPP) | Kate Shafer (sophomore - S) |
| Niagara | Chloe Moreland (sophomore - OH) | Ashley Moreland (freshman - L/DS) |
| Rice | Arissa Smith (senior - MB) | Aaliyah Smith (sophomore - OH) |
| Virginia | Sarah Brodner (junior - OH/RS) | Ella Brodner (freshman - OH/RS) |
| UP NEXT |
- Rutgers volleyball closes out the home portion of its 2026 schedule with #7 Wisconsin on Thursday, Nov. 12 at Jersey Mike's Arena and with Maryland at the College Ave Gym on Friday, Nov. 13.Ā Click here to purchase tickets for RU's match with the Badgers. Admission against the Terps at the College Ave Gym is free.
- The regular season concludes on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at #11 Penn State.
- The 15-team 2026 Big Ten Volleyball Tournament bracket will be unveiled on Tuesday, Nov. 17.Ā Ā
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- RU -Ā
Players Mentioned
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L/DS
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L/DS
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/ Women's VolleyballTuesday, November 03
Tuesday, November 03
Saturday, October 24
Sunday, October 18
