Rutgers volleyball (3-1) looks to run its winning streak to four straight when the Seton Hall Classic serves up its first match on Saturday, Sept. 2. The Scarlet Knights take on Buffalo (2-1) at 11 a.m. before facing the host Pirates (2-1) during the primetime 7:30 p.m. slot.
Follow the Action
Both matches will have LIVE STATS | The Seton Hall match will be broadcast onPIRATE SPORTS NETWORK | Follow @RUvball on Twitter
Series at a Glance
Both series have been tight in the all-time results book, especially the Seton Hall rivalry dating back to 1984 with the record knotted at 19-19. The Pirates have had the upper hand lately with four straight wins, but three of those have gone the distance in five-set matches. Rutgers last won in 2011, a 3-0 sweep. Last season, Seton Hall prevailed 15-13 in the fifth set, capping the comeback after dropping the first two sets in College Ave. Gym.
Rutgers and Buffalo, tied 2-2 in the all-time series, haven’t played since 1993 when the Bulls won its second straight match over the Scarlet Knights. RU won back-to-back years in 1978-79.
Scouting Buffalo
- The Bulls started the season 2-1 at their home invitational, with one of each kind of game: a 3-0 win over Hampton, a five-set comeback against Canisius, and a 3-0 loss to tournament champion Central Arkansas.
- Buffalo’s attack was paced by a pair of underclassmen during opening weekend as sophomore Polina Prokudina turned in 4.55 kills per set, just in front of freshman Andrea Mitrovic’s 4.00/set.
- Senior middle blocker Cassie Shado has been named to the preseason All-MAC East Division team. Shado was named to the All-MAC First Team last season as she led the Bulls and the entire Mid-American Conference in hitting percentage over the 2016 season as she hit .400, becoming only the second player in UB school history to hit at least .400 for a season.
Scouting Seton Hall
- The Pirates start a season 2-1 for the first time since 2014. SHU opened the year with a 3-2 victory against host Oklahoma at the OU Invitational, lost in straight sets to Colorado, and swept Northwestern State in the finale.
- Seton Hall is coming off a successful 2016 campaign that saw a return to the BIG EAST Championship tournament and a 10-8 BIG EAST record, the second-most conference wins in program history.
- The Pirates lost two All-BIG EAST players from that team, but have enjoyed early success from returning junior middle blocker Abby Thelen (3.64 kills/set) and newcoming freshman middle blocker Amanda Rachwal (11 total blocks). Sophia Coffey (62 assists) and Maggie Cvelbar (39 assists) have split setting duties.
Home Cooking
The Scarlet Knights improved to 6-4 in home openers under head coach CJ Werneke with a sweep of Siena on Wednesday evening inside a raucous College Ave. Gym. The matched concluded with a 25-6 win in favor of Rutgers, which is the largest margin of victory for RU in a set since 25-point rally scoring began in 2008.
Junior outside hitter Sahbria McLetchie and freshman opposite hitter Kamila Cieslik led the attack with nine kills apiece, while sophomore setter Megan Sharkeypassed out 24 assists with three services and a career-high four total blocks. The squad hit .286 as a team, a season-high, due in large part to a .682 clip in Set 3 with 16 kills and one error on 22 attempts.
Up Next
Rutgers continues tournament season at the University of Missouri Kansas City Kangaroo Klassic on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 8-9 with matches against Northern Iowa, South Dakota and the host Kangaroos.
Follow Rutgers Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram (@RUvball) for all of the latest news and updates. The team is also on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersVolleyball). For all Rutgers Athletics news follow us on Twitter(@RUAthletics), Instagram (@RUAthletics), Snapchat (@RUAthletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics).
Press Release courtesy of Rutgers Athletics.
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