Rutgers Volleyball claims second consecutive tournament title to produce longest winning streak since 2012

The Rutgers volleyball team swept all three matches this past weekend at the Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament in upstate New York. They beat New Hampshire, Quinnipiac and host Colgate in straight sets to win its second consecutive tournament title after last weekend’s sweep of the Rutgers Invitational. The Scarlet Knights have now won six straight matches and 12 consecutive sets. The last time the program accomplished those feats was in 2012.

Two players were named to the All-Tournament team, senior middle Jasmine Stackhouse and sophomore setter Inna Balyko. Stackhouse averaged 2.33 kills per set and 1.8 blocks per set. She is now 7th all-time in program history with 328 blocks in her career so far. Balyko was a major factor offensively, averaging almost 10 assists per set. She also had 30 digs in the tournament.

In the win over New Hampshire, Senior middle Stackhouse led Rutgers with 10 kills while also producing a team best four blocks. Balyko produced her fourth double-double of the season with 26 assists game high 15 digs.

In beating Quinnipiac, sophomore outside hitter Anastasiia Maksimova produced a game high 10 kills while senior libero Karysa Swackenberg had a game high 14 digs.

As a team, Rutgers produced a season best .325 hitting efficiency in the win over Colgate. Maksimova led Rutgers with 9 kills in the victory, which was the fourth time this season she produced a team high.

Rutgers is ranked 13th nationally in team blocks per set and have served 6 or more aces in seven consecutive matches.

With Big Ten play approaching, the Scarlet Knights (6-3) will complete non-conference play in Washington D.C. this coming weekend. They’ll visit American (5-5) on Friday, September 20th at 7 p.m. and Howard (2-9) on Saturday, September 21st at 2 p.m. Rutgers will open Big Ten action on Wednesday, September 25th at home against Michigan (6-2).