Volleyball Splits Opening Day Of Bellarmine Classic

Friday, August 28

Louisville, Ky.

11:00 AM

Rutgers

0-1,0-0Big Ten

Purdue Fort Wayne

1-0,0-0Horizon

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Rutgers	25	25	23	24	16	2
Purdue Fort Wayne	23	20	25	26	18	3

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Rutgers	25	22	25	25	3
Bellarmine	15	25	21	19	1

Karis Willow celebrates after serving up her seventh ace for match point in the win over Bellarmine

Volleyball Splits Opening Day Of Bellarmine Classic

Aug 28 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Match 1 - Purdue Fort Wayne Match 2 - Bellarmine

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Rutgers volleyball split its opening day at the Bellarmine Classic, dropping its opener to Purdue Fort Wayne in five, but coming back in the evening to top host Bellarmine, 3-1.

In the first match of the day, the Scarlet Knights went in front 2-0 on Purdue Fort Wayne, taking the first two frames 25-23, and 25-20 before the Mastodons came back 25-23, 26-24, and 18-16.

RU rebounded in the evening with a 25-15, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19 victory over Bellarmine to down the Knights for its first win of the season.

Purdue Fort Wayne 3, Rutgers 2

STANDOUT STATS

Altogether, four Scarlet Knights reached double-figure kills, led by newcomers Skylar George and Malia Romes, who led the attack with 14 kills each. Aspen Maxwell added 11 kills, swinging .381 across the five frames, and Imani Howell posted 10 kills.
In addition to her double-digit kills, Howell hit a team-best .529 with just one error on 17 attempts to go along with three aces and a team-leading four blocks.
Lily Bolen also joined Howell in serving up a trio of aces to go along with her 26 assists. Her three aces moved her into a tie for eighth place on the rally-era career ace list with Kristina Grkovic (2020-23). With 72 aces over her three seasons "On The Banks", Bolen needs 11 more to move into seventh to pass Stephanie Zielinski (2009-12).
Brooke Baldwin put up 30 assists in her debut and was one dig shy of her first double-double with nine digs.

KEY MOMENTS

SET 1 (25-23) | After Karis Willow gave the Scarlet Knights their first point of the season, Rutgers opened up to a 5-1 lead. Rutgers never trailed, but the Mastodons tied up the match twice, including 23-23 down the stretch. Imani Howell responded, though, with back-to-back kills to secure the victory. Skylar George made her Scarlet Knight debut leading RU in the opening frame with four kills and an ace.

SET 2 (25-20) | After four ties, Lily Bolen came to the service line for back-to-back aces to give RU a 15-12 edge at the midway break. Imani Howell secured the win with set point again. Karis Willow swung .571 with five swings on seven attempts to lead the Scarlet Knights, while as a team RU hit a match-best .524.

SET 3 (23-25) | A Scarlet Knight comeback fell just short as a late 6-1 rally pulled RU within a point before the Mastodons took the set. What started as a 7-1 Purdue Fort Wayne lead saw the Scarlet Knights come back to trail 24-23 with an Avery Jesewitz kill. Malia Romes collected five kills, committing only one error on eight attacks.

SET 4 (24-26) | The set was tied for a fourth and final time at 24-24. Down 23-20, RU came back with four of the next five points, including the swing from Aspen Maxwell to even out the frame. The Mastodons, however, knotted the match up at 2-2 on a kill from Trinity Rye and ace on set point.

SET 5 (16-18) | Seven ties and a pair of lead changes ultimately resulted in the Mastodons getting past the Scalet Knights in five. A kill from Kais Willow had the Scarlet Knights at match point at 15-14. Each team traded service errors, putting Rutgers back at match point, but Purdue Fort Wayne prevailed, taking the next three points.

Rutgers 3, Bellarmine 1

Rutgers volleyball win over Bellarmine graphic

STANDOUT STATS

Rutgers served up 13 aces, marking the most for the team since posting 17 aces against Michigan State on April 3, 2021. Karis Willow's seven aces were the most by a Scarlet Knight in a match since Kamila Csielik served up seven against Maryland on March 27, 2021.
Malia Romes and Imani Howell recorded double-digit kills. Romes captured a team-high 11 kills while Howell swung for 10, hitting on .500 with one error on 15 attempts.
Lily Bolen directed the attack with 21 assists while adding five aces and seven digs. Brooke Baldwin added 17 helpers in the victory.
Defensively, Kenzie Dyrstad came up with 13 digs and Howell made seven blocks, including a career high three solo stops.

KEY MOMENTS

SET 1 (25-15) | The Scarlet Knights opened on a 12-3 run, capped by Karis Willow's fourth ace of the match and never looked back. An Imani Howell swing put RU up 15-5 at the midway point and a swing from Aspen Maxwell saw the Scarlet Knight push out to a 20-12 advantage. Maxwell was successful on three of her four attempts, while Howell also added a set-high three kills.

SET 2 (22-25) | Bellarmine came up with the late surge to even the match at 1-1. The frame endured five lead changes and 10 total ties. Natalie Robison, who led the Scarlet Knights with four kills in the frame, swung to give RU an 18-14 edge, but the host Knights came back to even the score for a final time. On the final tie at 21-21, the hosts outscored RU 4-1 down the stretch.

SET 3 (25-21) | Rutgers powered back from an early 6-1 deficit using a 14-4 run, including rattling off seven unanswered points, for a 15-10 lead at the break. During the run, Lily Bolen served up a trio of her five aces on the night. From there, the Scarlet Knights continued to roll, hitting a match-best .346 and committing only two errors. Malia Romes fired off five kills and hit .714 for the set and Howell added a pair of solo blocks.

SET 4 (25-19) | RU never trailed in the final frame as Karis Willow sealed the victory with her seventh ace. After a 5-5 tie, Howell gave the Scarlet Knights the lead for good on a swing and RU would lead by as many as six at 20-14.

UP NEXT

Rutgers volleyball closes out the Bellarmine Classic on Saturday with Evansville at 1 p.m.

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