Volleyball Takes SHU Invite Crown Behind Victory Over LIU

Sunday, September 7

Fairfield, Conn.

1:00 PM

Rutgers University

4-2,0-0Big Ten

LIU

0-6,0-0NEC

Rutgers

LIU

Aspen Maxwell on the attack against Buffalo during opening weekend

Photo by: © Mikaela Engstrom 2025

Volleyball Takes SHU Invite Crown Behind Victory Over LIU

Sep 07 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Rutgers volleyball won its third-straight match and took the Sacred Heart Invitational crown in a 3-1 victory over LIU on Sunday afternoon at the William H Pitt Athletic & Convocation Center.

While the Sharks edged out the Scarlet Knights in the opening frame, 26-24, RU was victorious in the next three sets, 25-13, 25-10, 25-21.

Rutgers heads into next week's home opener at 4-2 overall. LIU, the NEC preseason favorites, dropped to 0-6.

Volleyball LIU victory graphic featuring Aspen Maxwell

STANDOUT STATS

Sophomore Aspen Maxwell poured in a game-high 17 kills to go along with a career-high four aces and eight digs.
Two additional Scarlet Knights were in double figures on the attack with seniors Lexi Visintine and Tara Garvey each contributing 11 kills. Garvey hit 429, while Visintine added a pair of aces and seven digs.
Sophomore Lily Bolen captured her third double-double of the season behind 41 assists and 10 digs. She also served up a pair of aces.
Defensively, Bolen, along with junior Zora Hardison and sophomore Natalie Robinson, put up a pair of blocks. Sophomore Alleigh Dutton worked up a match-high 16 digs.

KEY MOMENTS

SET 1 (24-26) | Rutgers worked its way out to an 11-6 edge, but LIU evened the opener outscoring the Scarlet Knights,11-6, tying up the frame at 17-17. From there, the set was tied seven times with a Shark service error knotting the stanza at 24-24. Despite RU hitting a match-best .448 from the floor, LIU had a successful swing and service ace to capture the win. LIU swung their best of match at .367 while RU was led by Lexi Visintine hitting .714 with five kills on seven attempts.

SET 2 (25-13) | A 7-0 run was what the Scarlet Knights needed to take the lead for good. The burst, helped by four LIU errors, saw RU go up 8-2 and never look back. The Scarlet Knights led by as many as 11 with another Shark miscue giving Rutgers the 22-11 lead. Rutgers hit over .400 for the second-straight set, swinging at a.414 clip, and Tara Garvey put down five kills on seven attacks, ending the frame hitting .714.

S2 | Serving up an LIU timeout ⬆️ by double digits #GoRU ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/hQTWlxkfLY
— Rutgers Volleyball (@RUvball) September 7, 2025

SET 3 (25-10) | It was RU in front from start to finish. Ahead 6-5, the Scarlet Knights rattled off 11 unanswered points, capped by a Maxwell ace for a 17-5 lead. Four-straight closed out the frame with Lily Bolen serving up set point. Rutgers took advantage of nine Shark attack errors, leading LIU to hit -.111 for the frame. The Scarlet Knights got seven points off aces, led by three from Maxwell and a pair by Visintine and Bolen.

S3 | "R" big and "R" little getting the 🛑 #GoRU ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/FzjB07Ihvc
— Rutgers Volleyball (@RUvball) September 7, 2025

SET 4 (25-21) | The final set saw 10 ties and seven lead changes before the Scarlet Knights closed out the weekend 3-0. LIU held a 15-14 edge, but RU came back with three straight and five of the next six to take the lead for good. After a Shark error put the Scarlet Knights up 19-16, LIU never pulled closer than two. Maxwell swung away for seven kills and finished the set hitting .500.

S4 | Lauren Wilcock cooking from the service line 🍳#GoRU ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/X6jK17L70R
— Rutgers Volleyball (@RUvball) September 7, 2025

UP NEXT

The Rutgers volleyball team returns "To The Banks" for their first home games of the 2025 season. The Scarlet Knights welcome Rider on Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m., St. Francis (PA) on Thursday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. and New Hampshire on Friday, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. Click here to purchase tickets.

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