2023-10-02 01:56:12
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10/6/2023 | 7:00 PM
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Oct. 06 (Fri) / 7:00 PM
Ohio State
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Rutgers volleyball took the first set and overcame an eight-point deficit in the fourth frame to trail 24-23, but it was host Michigan State taking a 3-1 victory on Sunday night at the Breslin Center.
The Scarlet Knights opened with a 25-19 victory, but the Spartans emerged with 25-17, 25-19, 25-23 set victories for the win.
Rutgers dropped to 8-6 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten. Michigan State, meanwhile, improved to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in league play.
Senior Kristina Grkovic led Rutgers with 12 kills swinging .455. She added six blocks, including two solo stops.
Fifth-year senior Alyssa Nayar collected her fifth double-double of the season and 26th of her career behind 30 assists and 10 digs.
Sophomore Bekah Williams served up a trio of aces.
Senior Madyson Chitty led all with 18 digs.
Set 1 (25-19) | Michigan State opened with a 12-9 lead but would not score back-to-back points the rest of the opening frame. After MSU extended to a 13-10 lead, Rutgers responded by outscoring the hosts 6-2 including an ace from Bekah Williams for Rutgers to go ahead 16-15. MSU tied the opening frame up for the eighth time on the next point, but a trio of errors by the Spartans and swings by Alissa Kinkela and Taylor Humphrey put Rutgers ahead for good. Grkovic and Humphrey collected a trio of kills each.
Set 2 (17-25) | Michigan State never trailed for the squads to head into the break even at 1-1. A Rikki Williams kill saw RU trail 10-8, but the Spartans took eight of the next 10 points to extend its lead. Five Scarlet Knights logged a pair of kills in the stanza.
Set 3 (19-25) | While MSU swung a match-low .188, the Spartans took a 2-1 lead. Michigan State used a 6-2 run for an 11-6 lead. While the hosts extended its advantage to 17-10, Rutgers did close the gap to within three points. RU outscored the Spartans 7-3 behind a pair of blocks by Kristina Grkovic and an ace by Bekah Williams to trail 20-17. Michigan State, however, closed out the frame on a 5-2 run. Grkovic led RU with three kills and two blocks in the stanza.
Set 4 (23-25) | Rutgers overcame an eight-point deficit to trail 24-23 in the final frame. RU was down 20-12 before going on an 11-4 run. The spurt began with Rutgers collecting five unanswered points and then the two squads trading points until a Taylor Humphrey swing and block by Rikki Williams and Alissa Kinkela saw RU trail 23-21. While a miscue got the Spartans to match point, kills from Williams and Kinkela had the Scarlet Knights down by one.
Rutgers volleyball returns to Jersey Mike’s Arena for a pair of top-25 matches. The Scarlet Knights host No. 22 Ohio State on Friday, Oct. 6 and No. 13 Minnesota on Saturday, Oct. 7. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
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