Home›College›Rutgers drops thriller to Princeton to move to 8-2

The Princeton women's volleyball team celebrates their victory over Rutgers. (Photo by Christopher Shannon - JSN)

Rutgers drops thriller to Princeton to move to 8-2

College, Featured, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Volleyball

September 16, 2023

It was a tough day “on the banks” as the Scarlet Knights fell to the Tigers, 3-2, on Friday night. Despite winning two straight sets after being down one, the Scarlet Knights couldn’t capture the last two. It was a high-scoring, high intensity game at College Ave Gym, but unfortunately the Scarlet Knights couldn’t come out on top.

Despite the loss, a huge career milestone was hit by senior Madyson Chitty, as she collected her 1,000th career dig. Chitty becomes the 10th Scarlet Knight in history to reach this significant number.

𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐄
.
Congrats to Madyson Chitty on her 1,000th career dig becoming the 10th Scarlet Knight in history to reach the mark.
.
The senior libero also joins the all-time top 10 list in the category.
.#GoRU ⚔️ #RUVB 🏐 #b1gvolleyball #ncaavolleyball pic.twitter.com/rnteDKIrUc

— Rutgers Volleyball (@RUvball) September 16, 2023

Another notable from the match was Alyssa Nayar putting up 45 assists during the match. Nayar made up about 86.5% of the Scarlet Knights total assists on the day.

Rutgers vs. Princeton Recap

The first set was a back and forth battle between the Scarlet Knights and the Tigers. Princeton ultimately got on top 25-23 to claim the set, but Rutgers bounced back in the second and killed the Tigers 25-12. The Scarlet Knights kept that same energy going in the third as Rutgers once again dominated 25-16.

Princeton came back with a vengeance and took over the fourth 25-19. In a very crucial fifth set it the Scarlet Knights couldn’t get enough on the board when they needed it most and dropped the final set to Princeton 15-12.

Despite Rutgers dominating in every single stat category except digs, the Scarlet Knights couldn’t get the points when it mattered most and couldn’t execute with the game on the line. On the positive side, the production and execution throughout the match from the Scarlet Knights was good, something that is going to be key as Rutgers moves into Big Ten play. The Scarlet Knights currently stands at 8-2 on the season.

Team Stats

	RU	Princeton
Kills	57	52
Errors	18	22
Attempts	150	141
Hitting %	.260	.213
Points	74	62.0
Assists	52	50
Aces	10	4
Blocks	7	6
Digs	60	62

Rutgers Game Leaders

Chitty Madyson - (Aces: 2, Assists: 6, Digs: 14)
Kristina Grkovic - (Kills: 16, Aces: 1, Blocks: 4)
Alissa Kinkela - (Kills: 13, Aces: 6, Digs: 11)
Alyssa Nayar - (Blocks: 2, Assists: 45, Digs: 17)

For more set by set details click here.

Rutgers Volleyball Next Match

Rutgers Volleyball goes on the road to open up Big Ten play against Penn State. A huge opportunity for the Scarlet Knights to capitalize on if they want to start off Big Ten play 1-0. Currently the Nittany Lions are 5-3 on the year dropping three games to #11 Florida, #20 Georgia Tech and #2 Louisville. This match will be crucial for the Scarlet Knights to see how the size up against in conference competition.