Volleyball Closes Nonconference In Five-Set Victory At St. John's

Saturday, September 19

Queens, N.Y.

5:00 PM

Rutgers

9-3,0-0Big Ten

St. John's

10-3,0-0Big East

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Rutgers	25	25	25	24	15	3
St. John's (NY)	27	19	23	26	13	2

Box Score (PDF)

Kenzie Dyrstad prepares to recieve the ball against Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium during the Big Ten/SEC Challenge

Volleyball Closes Nonconference In Five-Set Victory At St. John's

Sep 19 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

QUEENS, N.Y. – Rutgers volleyball got it done in five to close out the Jack Kaiser Classic and nonconference play at Carnesecca Arena on Saturday evening.

The Scarlet Knights topped St. John's 25-27, 25-19, 25-23, 24-26, 15-13 as they head into Big Ten play at 9-3 overall.

Skylar George and Kenzie Dyrstad were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Rutgers volleyball victory graphic over St Johns

STANDOUT STATS

Four Scarlet Knights landed in double-figure kills led by a career-high tying 16 from Imani Howell. Howell, who hit .353 in the victory, was also just short of a double-double, tying her career best on the block with nine stops.
Karis Willow and Skylar George both collected 13 kills while Malia Romes swung for 11.
George also recorded 14 digs for her second double-double of the weekend, third of the season and 14^th of her career.
Rutgers served up eight aces with three served up by Willow.
Kenzie Dyrstad registered a new career high in digs with 23. She bested her previous high of 20 against Iowa back on Sept. 26, 2024.
In being named to the All-Tournament Team, George averaged 2.86 kills and 2.71 digs per set, including a career-high 22 kills in the win over Bryant, and Dyrstad posted 3.93 digs per set on the weekend.

KEY MOMENTS

SET 1 (27-25) | The Scarlet Knights went on a 12-4 run to establish a 15-11 lead at the midway point. St. John's, however, came back with a run of its own, outscoring RU 11-4, to take a 22-19 edge. Three straight points from Karis Willow evened the frame at 22-22 and kills from Imani Howell had the opener tied at 23-23 and again at 24-24. The Red Storm, however, finished with three straight kills for the win. Howell hit .700 with seven kills on 10 swings while Willow added three.

SET 2 (25-19) | This time RU's run firmly established the Scarlet Knight lead. Rutgers went on a 12-4 burst to hold a 17-10 advantage. While St. John's battled back to within two points as RU led 20-18, the Scarlet Knights captured five of the next six points to even the match. The Scarlet Knights swung a match-best .344 as Willow dropped in four kills on nine attacks to hit .444.

S2 | Scarlet Knights are going to lead this charge ⚔️

📺: https://t.co/zKYrNTQmrt (ESPN+)
📊: https://t.co/jDnxPR7SzR #GoRU ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/6m8M1jPA5N
— Rutgers Volleyball (@RUvball) September 19, 2026

SET 3 (25-23) | Rutgers rolled out to a 13-5 start, but an 11-2 run by the Red Storm forced the first of six ties. St. John's took the lead at 23-22, but the Scarlet Knights knotted the score up on a swing from Natalie Robinson. A miscue by the St. John's attack put RU back in front and the Scarlet Knights sealed the set on a solo stop from Malia Romes.

S3 | The Scarlet Knight Wall Of Grit 🧱

📺: https://t.co/zKYrNTQmrt (ESPN+)
📊: https://t.co/jDnxPR7SzR #GoRU ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/APVkxm4X3c
— Rutgers Volleyball (@RUvball) September 19, 2026

SET 4 (24-26) | It was the closest frame of the evening with 11 ties and three lead changes. St. John's was at match point up 24-23 when its opportunity to take the set was thwarted by a swing from Skylar George. A service error put the Red Storm back at match point before a Lejla Hadiredepovic kill forced a fifth and deciding set. George finished with four kills on eight attacks, swinging .500 for the frame.

SET 5 (15-13) | It was another set down to the wire as the deciding frame saw nine ties and the lead change hands seven times. With the Red Storm up 12-11, George came up clutch on the attack yet again to even the score at 12-12 while a pair of St. John errors put RU up 14-12. A Carola Tesoro kill kept the Red Storm alive but George tooled the block for the Scarlet Knight victory.

S5 | ... and match point goes to

📺: https://t.co/zKYrNTQmrt (ESPN+)
📊: https://t.co/jDnxPR7SzR #GoRU ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/CaahXX6UTh
— Rutgers Volleyball (@RUvball) September 20, 2026

UP NEXT

The Rutgers volleyball team begins Big Ten play next weekend. The Scarlet Knights travel to #1 Nebraska on Friday, Sept. 25 and Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 26.

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