Volleyball Welcomes LIU For Home Opener On Tuesday

Tuesday, September 8

6:00 PM

Rutgers

LIU

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Imani Howell during introductions at Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium during the Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge

Volleyball Welcomes LIU For Home Opener On Tuesday

Sep 07 | Women's Volleyball

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – After opening the 2026 season on the road, Rutgers volleyball is back home at Jersey Mike's Arena to kick off the home portion of its schedule with a four-game homestand starting with LIU on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The week continues with the Scarlet Knights hosting Stony Brook and Rider vs. Delaware on Thursday, Sept. 10, hosting Delaware and Stony Brook vs. Rider on Friday, Sept. 11 and hosting Rider and Delaware vs. Stony Brook on Saturday, Sept. 12. One ticket grants fans admission for both matches on the day.

Rutgers volleyball this week graphic - vs. LIU, vs. Stony Brook, vs. Delaware & vs. Rider - featuring Imani Howell

MATCH DAY INFO

Venue:	Jersey Mike's Arena - Piscataway, N.J.
Tickets:	Rutgers Volleyball Ticket Central
Parking:	Parking Registration Link Coming Soon
Game Notes:	Rutgers \| LIU \| Stony Brook \| Delaware \| Rider
Statistics:	Rutgers \| LIU \| Stony Brook \| Delaware \| Rider \| Big Ten
Schedule:	Tuesday, Sept. 8 Rutgers vs. LIU - 6 p.m. Video (B1G+) \| Live Stats Thursday, Sept. 10 Rider (A) vs. Delaware (H) - 3 p.m. Video (B1G+) \| Live Stats Rutgers vs. Stony Brook - 6 p.m. Video (B1G+) \| Live Stats Friday, Sept. 11 Stony Brook (A) vs. Rider (H) - 3 p.m. Video (B1G+) \| Live Stats Rutgers vs. Delaware - 6 p.m. Video (B1G+) \| Live Stats Saturday, Sept. 12 Delaware (A) vs. Stony Brook (H) - 3 p.m. Video (B1G+) \| Live Stats Rutgers vs. Rider - 6 p.m. Video (B1G+) \| Live Stats
Social Media:	Facebook \| X \| Instagram

ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS

The Scarlet Knights come home at 3-2, coming off a split at the first-ever Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge. RU swept Arkansas for the first win over an SEC team since 2001 and dropped a 3-1 decision against host Vanderbilt. In the win over the Razorbacks, it was not only the Scarlet Knights' first sweep of the year but their first SEC victory since a 3-0 victory over Ole Miss back on Aug. 31, 2001. In the loss against Vanderbilt, Malia Romes tied her early career-high with 14 kills, while Lily Bolen (23a, 11d) and Skylar George (11k, 10d) recorded the first Scarlet Knight double-doubles of the season.
The previous weekend, Rutgers opened the season at 2-1 at the Bellarmine Classic. After a five-set setback to Purdue Fort Wayne, the Scarlet Knights came back for 3-1 victories over host Bellarmine and Evansville. In the win over Bellarmine, RU 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. Lily Bolen added five from the line in the victory as well.
In national stats, the Scarlet Knights boast two in the top 20 in hitting percentage, while as a team, RU checks in 32nd nationally in the category, hitting at a .278 clip. Imani Howell swings away a .464 to rank 12th among all DI players, while Natalie Robinson is hitting .458 to rank 17th nationally.
Also among all DI teams, Willow is 10th in aces per set (0.82) and 15th in total aces (14) while leading the Big Ten in the category. Lily Bolen, meanwhile, ranked 24th with 13 aces and is third in the Big Ten in aces per set (0.65).
Checking out the rest of the stat sheet for the offense, Romes, coming off her career-high tying 14 kills in RU's last contest at Vandy, leads the attack with 2.75 kills per frame. Bolen and Brooke Baldwin share setting duties averaging 5.60 and 5.35 per frame, respectively.
In addition to Howell leading the Scarlet Knights in swing proficiency, she also leads the squad in blocks, having racked up 18 total stops, including five solo blocks. Natalie Robinson has also contributed 13 blocks and Romes has added 11 blocks at net.
Kenzie Dyrstad continues to dig up the ball at 3.50 per set.

SCOUTING LIU

The Sharks are looking for their first win in 2006 and will be meeting up with a Big Ten foe for the fifth time in six matches. LIU opened the year with 3-0 losses at Michigan and Michigan State before heading over to the west coast for 3-0 setbacks at #25 Oregon and Washington State.
Sara van Gisteren leads the offense with 2.58 kills per set followed by Mia Roja-Avila at 2.00 per frame, while Dilara Elmacioglu sets up the attack behind 6.00 assists per set to go along with her team-leading three aces.
Defensively, Elmacioglu also leads LIU on the defense, averaging 2.50 digs per set, and Yasmeen Muhammad has made six stops at the net.

SCOUTING STONY BROOK

The Seawolves are off to a 4-3 start on the 2026 season and ride a three-match win streak into the start of the week with five-set wins over Penn and Coppin State and a sweep of Navy at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational last weekend in Annapolis, Maryland.
The attack is run through Ella Sanders at 3.41 kills per set and Quinn Anderson at 3.16 kills per frame, while directing the offense is Taryn Su with 5.24 assists per set.
At the service line, both Raynna Whate and Anyanna Pierre Louis have served up eight aces each.
At the net, Damisi Osibodu has logged 35 blocks, averaging 1.30 per set, and Louis has racked up 27 total stops, averaging one block per set.
Also on the defense, the Seawolves will look to Zayda Fuertez, who has collected 3.16 digs in 19 sets played, and Carey-Jan Block, who has averaged 3.00, having seen time across all 27 sets to date.

SCOUTING DELAWARE

The Fighting Blue Hens are 3-2 entering the week and will meet Rider on Thursday afternoon before taking on the Scarlet Knights. Delaware is coming off a pair of wins at the Blue Hen Invitational in Newark last weekend, taking a five-set win over Fordham along with a sweep of New Haven.
On the stat sheet, Anna Logan Gillen is putting away 3.76 kills per set and Thalia Yancey is collecting 2.95 kills per stanza.
Kennedi Inman, meanwhile, adds 10.05 helpers per set.
Yancey and Jayda Gray lead Delaware at the line, having collected six aces thus far this season.
At the net, Asia Murray has posted 16 total blocks, with Morgan Campbell and Anna Logan Gillens reaching double-digit stops.
In addition to second on the squad in kills and tied for the lead in aces, Yancey tops the stat sheet in digs at 3.19 per set. Jayda Redd also contributes 3.05 a frame.

SCOUTING RIDER

Rider comes into the week at 1-4 overall and will take on Delaware on Thursday and Stony Brook on Friday before wrapping up the weekend meeting the Scarlet Knights on Saturday. After a five-set win over Fordham to open the season, the Broncs have lost four straight, including a 3-0 loss at St. John's and 3-1 setbacks versus East Texas A&M and UAB at the Lou Carnesecca Invitational in Queens, New York.
Looking at the Broncs attack, Maisie Nawrocki leads the way with 2.78 kills per set followed by Anja Kelly at 2.63 per set.
Makenna Mason sets up the offense, averaging 6.63 assists per set.
Leading the way on aces is Katie Cook with four with three other Broncs having recorded a trio thus far.
The block is led by Molly Rohde with 16 total blocks, including five solo stops.
Rider will also look to Simone Langford on defense with 4.16 digs per frame.

STAT NOTABLE WATCH

Rally-Era Career

Lily Bolen needs 253 more assists to climb to third in rally-era career assists past Anna Sudbury (2012-15). She currently has 1,463 career assists.
Lily Bolen needs two more aces to move into sixth in rally-era career aces past Karysa Swackenberg (2016-19) and eight more to move in fifth in the rally-era career aces past Kamila Cieslik (2017-21). She currently has 82 career aces.
Natalie Robinson needs four more solo blocks to move into fifth, surpassing Alex Jones (2009-12). She currently has 26 career solo blocks.
Natalie Robinson needs six total blocks and 11 block assists to enter the rally-era career top ten. She currently has 205 total and 179 assisted blocks in her career.
Kenzie Dyrstad needs 170 more digs to enter the rally-era top 10. She currently has 542 career digs.
Aspen Maxwell needs 266 points to enter the rally-era career top ten. She currently has 491.0 points in her career.

RUTGERS ON THE RISE

Take a look at the climb during the Caitlin Schweihofer Era of Rutgers volleyball.

- 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. 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.

- 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.

CELEBRATING 50 SEASONS

The Scarlet Knights are celebrating 50 seasons of Rutgers volleyball in 2026 and will honor all letterwinners during homecoming weekend with a letterwinner open practice and football pregame tailgate on Saturday, Oct. 4 and a letterwinner pregame reception and in-match recognition prior to RU taking on Indiana in front of the BTN cameras on Sunday, Oct. 5. Click here to RSVP.

SEASON & SINGLE GAME TICKETS

Season and individual game tickets for 2026 are on sale for Rutgers women's volleyball at Jersey Mike's Arena.
The Scarlet Knights will welcome 12 opponents to Jersey Mike's Arena this season, featuring nine home dates against Big Ten competition, including contests with Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, USC, Michigan and UCLA, who all advanced to last year's NCAA Tournament.
There will be single admission during RU's home matches and neutral site matchups with Stony Brook, Delaware and Rider on Thursday, Sept. 10, Friday, Sept. 11 and Saturday, Sept. 12. One ticket gets fans into both games
Rutgers' home finale with Maryland on Friday, Nov. 13 will be held at the College Avenue Gym and is free admission.

UP NEXT

Rutgers volleyball finishes out nonconference action at the Jack Kaiser Volleyball Classic hosted by St. John's. In addition to meeting up with the Red Storm, the Scarlet Knights will also take on Penn and Bryant.

Follow Rutgers women's volleyball on Facebook, X and Instagram.

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