
Photo by: Prem Desai
Nov 10 | Women's Volleyball
PISCATAWAY, N.J.Ā ā The final home stretch for Rutgers volleyball is here, with the Scarlet Knights welcoming #9 Wisconsin on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Jersey Mike's Arena for Military Appreciation Day and Maryland on Friday at 7 p.m. at the College Ave Gym as the Scarlet Knights are still in the hunt for a spot in the Big Ten Tournament.
Click here for tickets for Thursday's match with the Badgers.
Admission for Friday's match at the College Ave Gym with the Terps is free.Ā
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Individual Rally-Era Career
Individual Rally-Era Season
Team 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 over 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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Click here for tickets for Thursday's match with the Badgers.
Admission for Friday's match at the College Ave Gym with the Terps is free.Ā
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| MATCH DAY INFO |
| Venue: | Thursday: Jersey Mike's Arena - Piscataway, N.J. Friday: College Ave Gym - New Brunswick, N.J. |
| Tickets:Ā | Click Here To Purchase Tickets For Jersey Mike's Arena Free Admission To College Ave Gym |
| Parking: | Jersey Mike's Arena: Livingston Campus - Green/Yellow Lot College Ave Gym: Lot 30, Lot 26 & College Ave Parking Deck |
| Wisconsin Match Promos: | * Military Appreciation Night * Complimentary tickets for military members, veterans & first responders at Vettix.org |
| Maryland Match Promos: | * Senior Night |
| Game Notes: | RutgersĀ | Wisconsin | Maryland |
| Statistics: | Rutgers | Wisconsin | MarylandĀ |Ā Big Ten |
| Schedule: | Thursday, Nov. 12 vs. #9 Wisconsin - Jersey Mike's Arena - 6:00 p.m. (ET) Video (BTN+) |Ā Live Stats Friday, Nov. 13 vs. MarylandĀ - College Ave Gym - 7:00 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 with a five-set victory over Michigan, the first over the Wolverines in program history, and a three-set loss to USC.
- The Scarlet Knights and Wolverines went to five sets for a third-straight year, but this time it was RU in the win column with aĀ 25-20, 25-21, 15-25, 19-25, 15-11 victory. Malie Romes,Ā coming off a career-high 22 kills at Northwestern, poured in a team-high 18 against MichiganĀ as one of three Scarlet Knights in double-digit kills, while two Scarlet Knights recorded double-doubles for the second-straight match. Skylar GeorgeĀ posted her fourth double-double in five matches with 13 kills and 11 digs, while Brooke Baldwin added 24 assists and 10 digs. Avery Jeswitz reached double-figure kills for the second straight match with 10 kills. George and Baldwin wereĀ joined in double-digit digs by Kenzie DyrstadĀ with a team-leading 13 and Jenna DeLaMaterĀ with a season-high 10 in the start at defensive specialist. On the block, Natalie RobinsonĀ posted six stops, including two solo blocks, that moved her into a tie for fourth on the rally-era career leaders list and moved her one solo rejection away from joining the rally-era season leaders list for a second time. Additionally, Karis Willow logged five blocks, including a career-high threeĀ solo blocks.
- Against the Trojans, Romes led RU with eight kills with George swinging for seven and Willow and Jesewitz contributing six kills each. Romes and Willow had two blocks each, while Dyrstad collected 11 digs.
- Romes continues to lead the Scarlet Knights with 2.78Ā kills per set. She has led RU on the attack 12 times this season and has 16Ā double-digit killĀ games. In Big Ten contests, the freshman averages 2.94 kills per frame.
- Also contributing to the attack isĀ George, dropping in 2.58Ā per set, and Willow adding 2.25 per set. George has eightĀ double-doubles this season, while leading the Scarlet Knights on the attack eightĀ times with 14Ā double-figure kill matches, including nineĀ of the last 11. Willow, meanwhile, leads RU at the line with 35 aces, including seven against Bellarmine, and ranks fourth in the category in the Big Ten.
- Setting up the attack are Brooke Baldwin at 5.54Ā assists per set and Lily Bolen atĀ 5.12Ā helpers per frame in the two-sette system. Bolen has logged eight double-doublesĀ this season.
- Bolen is also a Scarlet Knight to watch at the service line and is nearing the 100 career ace mark. Bolen has 29Ā aces to her credit this season, including five served up against Bellarmine and LIU. She is twoĀ 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
- Defensively, Imani Howell 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 75Ā stops and most recently claimed six blocks in the win over Michigan.
- RU will also look to Kenzie Dyrstad onĀ defense with her 3.18Ā digs per set. She Ā is nine digs away from her 800th career dig.
| SCOUTING WISCONSIN |
- The Badgers come to New Jersey ranked at No. 9 in this week's AVCA Top 25 Poll with a 17-7 overall mark and 11-3 record in Big Ten play. Wisconsin fell five sets on Sunday at home to No. 10 Penn State, snapping a four-game win streak.
- On the attack, Wisconsin will look to Decelise Champion at 3.80 kills per set, with Audrey Flanagan adding 2.94 per frame to go along with a team-leading 26 aces.Ā Additionally, Jaela Auguste swings for 2.54 kills per set and Eva Travis connectsĀ for 2.42 per stanza. Framing up the attack is Charlie Fuerbringer at 11.16 assists per set. She ranks fifth nationally and is second in the conference in the category.
- Defensively, the Badgers have Lynney Tarnow at the net with 100 total blocks on the season, averaging 1.12 stops per set, and Anna Bardaro digging up the ballĀ an average of 3.45 times per frame.
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| SCOUTING MARYLAND |
- The Terrapins host No. 10 Penn State on Wednesday before making the trip to the College Ave Gym to meet Rutgers. Maryland enters the week at 13-12 overall and 3-11 in Big Ten play.
- Maryland snapped a six-game losing streak last ThursdayĀ night with a five-set win over USC, but dropped a 3-1 decision with Michigan on Saturday.Ā
- Leading the offense for the Terps is Sydney Bryant with 3.08 kills per set and Sara Toth directing the attack behind 10.57 assists per set. At the service line, Raina Chwialkowski has delivered a team-leading 23 aces.
- At the net, Duru Gokcen hasĀ made a team-leading 76 total blocks, followed by Eva Rohrbach with 74 and Ava Brown with 72. The defense will also look to Chwialkowki, who averages 3.07 digs per frame.
| STAT NOTABLE WATCH |
Individual Rally-Era Career
- Lily Bolen needs twoĀ more aces to pass Inna Balyko (2018-21) for third in rally-era career aces. She currently has 98Ā career aces.
- Lily Bolen needs 1,571Ā more assists to climb to secondĀ in rally-era career assists past Inna Balyko (2018-21). She currently has 1,868Ā career assists.
- Natalie Robinson needs fourĀ more solo blocks to move into thirdĀ in rally-era career solo blocks, surpassing Hannah Curtis (2008-11). She currently has 36Ā career solo blocks.Ā
- Natalie Robinson needs fourĀ more blocks to move into fifthĀ on the rally-era career total blocks list, past Hannah Curtis (2008-11).Ā She currently has 267Ā career total blocks.
- Natalie Robinson needs 16Ā more block assistsĀ to move into fifthĀ on the rally-era career block assist list, past Inna Balyko (2018-21). She currently has 231Ā career block assists.
- Kenzie Dyrstad needs 72Ā more digs to move into seventhĀ in rally-era career digs past Beka Kojadinovic (2017-21). She currently has 791Ā 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 28Ā 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 threeĀ more solo blocks to move into ninthĀ in the rally-era season solo blocks past her own mark of 13 set in 2024 and Hannah Curtin (2011). She currently has 11Ā solo stops.Ā
- Kenzie Dyrstad needs 40Ā more digs to join the rally-era season top 10 list.Ā
Team Rally-Era Season
- Rutgers needs 27Ā 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 21Ā more kills toĀ move into fifthĀ on theĀ Rutgers freshman top 10 kills list past Alissa Kinkela (2022). She currently has 281Ā kills.
- Malia Romes needs three more blocks to join the Rutgers freshman top 10 list in blocks. She currently has 57 total blocks.
- Brooke Baldwin needs 50Ā more assists to move into fifthĀ on the Rutgers freshman top 10 assist list, past Joy Lesnick (1994). She currently has 603Ā 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 39Ā more kills to move into ninth onĀ the Rutgers junior top 10 list in kills past Mara Priedits (1996). She currently has 242 kills.
- Lily Bolen needs threeĀ more assists to move into eighth on the Rutgers junior assist list past Aly Borellis (2024) and 74 more to move into seventh past Rachel Andreassian (2013). She currently has 517Ā assists.
- Lily Bolen needs five more aces to join the Rutgers junior top 10 list in aces. She currently has 28Ā aces.
- Kenzie Dyrstad needs 25Ā more digs to move into seventhĀ on the Rutgers senior top 10 digs list, past Shayla Bush (2003) and 27 more to move into sixth, past Karysa Swackenberg (2019). She currently has 312.
- 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 over 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 |
- The regular season concludes on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at #10Ā 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
Saturday, November 07
Friday, November 06
Tuesday, November 03
Tuesday, November 03

















