Rutgers volleyball will continue its homestand this weekend with matches against Northwestern on Friday, October 10, and Illinois on Saturday, October 11. Both contests are scheduled for 7 p.m. at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey. Tickets for the games are available online.
On Friday, fans attending the match against Northwestern are encouraged to wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. The first 250 fans will receive a pink Block R shirt. Saturday’s game against Illinois is designated as Youth Day, with the first 200 fans receiving a Rutgers headband. After the match, players will be available for autographs.
The Scarlet Knights recently achieved their first Big Ten win of the season and set both school and state records for volleyball attendance. Last weekend, they defeated Maryland and played before a sold-out crowd of 8,000 at Jersey Mike’s Arena in a match against No. 1 Nebraska.
Rutgers enters the weekend with a 10-6 overall record and a 1-3 mark in Big Ten play. The team completed its nonconference schedule at 9-3, including seven sweeps and a seven-match win streak—the program’s longest since 2012. Rutgers leads the Big Ten in aces per set (2.15) and ranks tenth nationally, with Lexi Visintine recording 28 aces this season.
Aspen Maxwell has earned two all-tournament honors this season and leads the team with 4.11 kills per set. Lily Bolen averages 10.43 assists per set, ranking sixth among Big Ten setters, while Zora Hardison leads Rutgers in blocks with 62 total stops.
Northwestern arrives with an 11-5 overall record and is also 1-3 in conference play. Their offense features Rylen Reid at 3.28 kills per set and Lauren Carter with 5.85 assists per set. On defense, Della Simku has made 51 blocks this season.
Illinois will play Maryland before traveling to New Jersey for Saturday’s game. The Fighting Illini are currently 8-5 overall and have a 3-1 record in Big Ten competition.
This weekend’s matches are part of the newly established Discover In-Season Volleyball Challenge, launched by the Big Ten Conference and Big Ten Network (BTN). The challenge includes five designated matches for each team during October, with the winner determined by the highest number of wins across those games.
Several individual milestones are within reach for Rutgers players: Zora Hardison is close to becoming the rally-era career leader in solo blocks; Lexi Visintine needs seven more aces to move into fourth place on the rally-era career list; and Lily Bolen is approaching her 1,000th career assist.
The Scarlet Knights’ recent success includes a seven-match winning streak earlier this season—their longest since 2012—and notable performances from players such as Aspen Maxwell, Lily Bolen, Lexi Visintine, Zora Hardison, Natalie Robinson, Tara Garvey, and Alleigh Dutton.
Under head coach Caitlin Schweihofer, now in her fifth season, Rutgers has seen continued improvement since joining the Big Ten Conference, setting new records for wins, attendance, and individual achievements over recent years.
Following this weekend’s games, Rutgers will face Maryland again on Wednesday, October 15 in College Park before returning home to host Purdue on Sunday, October 19.
