Friday, October 16
Seattle, Wash.
10:00 PM
Rutgers
at
Washington
Photo by: Bianca Borja
Volleyball Heads To West Coast To Meet #20 Washington On Friday & #11 Oregon On Sunday On BTN
Oct 14 | Women's Volleyball
PISCATAWAY, N.J.Ā ā Rutgers volleyball hits the road to the West Coast to meet up with #20 Washington on Friday, Oct. 16 at 10 p.m. (ET) and #11 Oregon on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. (ET).
Friday's match with the Huskies will be streamed on B1G+ and on YouTube as part ofĀ B1G+ Free Friday.Ā Sunday's match with the Ducks will air on BTN withĀ AJ Kanell and Anna Connelly on the call.
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Rally-Era Career
Rally-Era Season
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.
- 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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Follow Rutgers women's volleyball onĀ Facebook,Ā XĀ andĀ Instagram.
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Friday's match with the Huskies will be streamed on B1G+ and on YouTube as part ofĀ B1G+ Free Friday.Ā Sunday's match with the Ducks will air on BTN withĀ AJ Kanell and Anna Connelly on the call.
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| MATCH DAY INFO |
| Venue: | Alaska Airlines Arena - Seattle, Wash. | Matthew Knight Arena - Eugene, Ore. |
| Game Notes: | RutgersĀ | Washington | Oregon |
| Statistics: | Rutgers | Washington | OregonĀ Ā |Ā Big Ten |
| Schedule: | Friday, Oct. 16 at #20 Washington - 10:00 p.m. (ET) Video (BTN+) | Video (YouTube) |Ā Live Stats Sunday, Oct. 18 at #11 Oregon - 4:00 p.m. (ET) BTN Channel Finder | Fox Sports App |Ā Live Stats Ā |
| Social Media: | Facebook | XĀ | Instagram |
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| ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS |
- Rutgers takes on another pair of ranked opponents this week after taking on #15 Indiana and #21 Minnesota and RV UCLA over the last week and a half at home. The Scarlet Knights took a set against all three opponents, marking a set victory over a top-25 opponent for the first time since 2023 and a set off a top-15 program for the first time since 2021. In its last road outing,Ā RUĀ swept Ohio State at the Covelli Center for a second-straight year, topping the Buckeyes 25-21, 25-14, 25-23.
- Malia Romes leads the attack with 2.74 kills per set, having led the Scarlet Knights in kills in seven matches to date and double-digit kills in each of the last four contests, including 15 against the Golden Gophers and 11 versus the Bruins. Last week, RomesĀ was named Freshman of the Week by Women's College Volleyball Nerdz, after totaling 27 kills, including a career-high 16 versus the nationally ranked Hoosiers, averaging 3.88 per set, while swinging .571 with seven total blocks.Ā Ā
- Skylar George follows at 2.48Ā kills per set. George, in addition to her career-high 22 against Bryant in the final nonconference week, has collected four double-doubles this year, including 13 kills and 15 digs against #21 Minnesota.Ā
- Setting up the attack are Brooke Baldwin at 5.52Ā assists per set and Lily Bolen atĀ 5.48Ā helpers per frame. Bolen most recently moved into third on the rally-era career leaders list with 1,729 career helpers.
- Bolen is also a Scarlet Knight to watch at the service line and is nearing the 100 career ace mark. Bolen has 26Ā aces to her credit this season, including five served up against Bellarmine and LIU. She is fiveĀ 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 has a Big Ten second-best 30Ā aces this seasonĀ , including seven served up against Bellarmine. As a team, Rutgers has served up a Big Ten-leading 124Ā on the season.
- Defensively, Imani Howell leads the block with 74Ā total stops, 16Ā solo blocks and 1.21Ā rejections per set. Howell capturedĀ nine blocks in RU's finalĀ nonconference outing, a 3-2 win at St. John's.Ā
- RU will also look to Kenzie Dyrstad onĀ defense with her 3.77Ā digs per set. She has led RU in the category in all but twoĀ matches this season and is second in the Big Ten with 249Ā total digs. She moved into the rally-era career top 10 in RU's last match with UCLA and has 728 over her four seasons.Ā
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| SCOUTING WASHINGTON |
- The Huskies welcome the Scarlet Knights with a 13-2 overall and 4-2 Big Ten record and are ranked at #20 in this week's AVCA Top 25. Washington opened the season with 11 straight wins, with its only two losses coming at the hands of Illinois and Penn State in 3-0 losses.
- The offense is led by Simona Mateska at 3.46 kills per set and a team-leading 19 aces, along withĀ Maija Howse at 2.67 kills per frame. Directing the attack is Andra Fabikovicova with 9.74 assists perĀ stanza.
- On defense, the Huskies have four averaging over a block a set led by Katy Wessels with 61 total stops. Kaitlyn Nguyen, meanwhile, adds 3.89 digs per frame.Ā
| SCOUTING OREGON |
- Oregon hosts #18 Indiana on Friday before hosting the Scarlet Knights on national television. The Ducks enter the week at 14-2 overall and 5-1 in league action and ranked at #11 in this week's AVCA Top 25. Oregon's two losses were a 3-1 setback at Arizona State back on Sept. 11 and a 3-1 loss at Wisconsin to open up Big Ten play.
- The attack runs through Valentina Vaulet at 3.26 kills per set and Alanah Clemente at 3.23 kills per set. Setting up the kills for the Ducks is Marina Crownover with 10.23 assists per frame.
- At the net, Iva Sucurovic has racked up 55 total stops, averaging 0.96 per set, while Reese Sheppart adds 3.48 digs per set.
| BIG TEN DISCOVER VOLLEYBALL CHALLENGE |
- The Big Ten Conference and Big Ten Network have announced the second year of the Discover In-Season Volleyball Challenge.Ā
- Weekend (Saturday/Sunday) conference matches played October 3 ā November 1 will count toward the Discover In-Season Volleyball Challenge, with each team playing five designated challenge matches throughout the month, with the winner determined by the highest win total across the five matches. Tiebreaking procedures will be utilized in the event two or more teams have the same win total.
- Rutgers' challenge games include:
- Sunday, Oct. 4 - vs. Indiana - 2 p.m. - B1G+
- Saturday, Oct. 10 - vs.Ā UCLA - 7 p.m. - B1G+
- Sunday, Oct. 18 - at Oregon - 4 p.mĀ -Ā BTN
- Saturday, Oct. 24 - vs.Ā Illinois - 7 p.m.Ā - B1G+
- Saturday, Oct. 31 - at Northwestern - 8 p.m.Ā - B1G+
| STAT NOTABLE WATCH |
Rally-Era Career
- Lily Bolen needs fiveĀ more aces to pass Inna Balyko (2018-21) for third in rally-era career aces. She currently has 95Ā career aces.
- Lily Bolen needs 1,704Ā more assists to climb to secondĀ in rally-era career assists past Inna Balyko (2018-21). She currently has 1,729Ā career assists.
- Natalie Robinson needsĀ threeĀ more solo blocks to move into fourth in rally-era career solo blocks, surpassing Mikaela Mattherws (2012-16). She currently has 34Ā career solo blocks.Ā
- Natalie Robinson needs fiveĀ blocks to move into seventhĀ on the rally-era career total blocks list, past Alex Jones (2009-12).Ā She currently has 246Ā career total blocks.
- Natalie Robinson needs nineĀ more block assistsĀ to move into seventhĀ on the rally-era career block assist list, past Alex Jones (2009-12). She currently has 212Ā career block assists.
- Kenzie Dyrstad needs 16Ā more digs to move into ninth past Alex Lassa (2012-14), 20 more digsĀ to move into eighth past Kallie Pence (2008-11) and 136 more to move into seventh past Beka Kojadinovic (2017-21) on the rally-era career digs list.Ā Ā She currently has 728Ā career digs.
- Aspen Maxwell needs 157Ā points to enter the rally-era career points top ten. She currently has 600Ā points in her career.
Rally-Era Season
- Karis Willow needs two more aces to join the rally-era season top 10 list. She currently has 30 aces on the season
- Lily Bolen needs sixĀ more aces to join the rally-era season top 10 list for a second time. She currently has 26Ā aces on the season. Her 38 aces as a sophomore in 2025 areĀ third on the list.
- Imani Howell needs threeĀ more solo blocks to move into fourthĀ in rally-era season solo blocks past Megan Vernon (2022) and Shealyn McNamara (2021). She currently has 16Ā solo stops on the season.
- Natalie Robinson needs fourĀ more solo blocks to move into ninthĀ in rally-era season solo blocks. She currently has nine solo stops. Robinson already appears on the list in ninth with 13 solo blocks in 2024.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.
- 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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| 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) |
| SCHEDULE UPDATE |
- Rutgers' match with nationally-ranked USC on Saturday, Nov. 7 has been moved to a 1 p.m. start.
| UP NEXT |
- The Scarlet Knights return home to Jersey Mike's Arena to host #22 Michigan State on Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. and #23 Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.Ā Ā Click here to purchase tickets.Ā Ā
Follow Rutgers women's volleyball onĀ Facebook,Ā XĀ andĀ Instagram.
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Players Mentioned
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L/DS
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L/DS
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MB
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OH/RS
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RS/MB
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OH/DS
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/ Women's VolleyballSunday, October 11
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