Volleyball To Open Season With Miami, North Texas & Colorado

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The 2024 Rutgers volleyball season gets underway this weekend as the Scarlet Knights make their way to Denton, Texas for the UNT Invitational for matches with Miami, host North Texas and Colorado.
 

• RU continues to trend upward as it takes the court for Caitlin Schweihofer‘s fifth season “On The Banks”. The Scarlet Knights, in each season in Schweihofer’s tenure, have taken a step up on the ladder of success with the squad anticipating moving up another rung behind eight returnees and eight newcomers.
• On the list of last year’s notables was Rutgers’ first-ever All-Big Ten attacker, first-ever top 25 victory with a 3-1 win over No. 16 Minnesota, the most overall wins and best nonconference record since 2012, a set win improvement by 45% over the previous season and a school record in attendance.  Altogether the Scarlet Knights placed 12 entries into the rally-era individual season top 10 records and 13 entries into the rally-era team top 10 records while collecting the most sets played, kills, assists, assists per set, digs and solo blocks by a team in conference play since joining the Big Ten in 2014.  Additionally, head coach Caitlin Schweihofer registered her 100th career victory.
• Incoming setter junior Ally Borellis, sophomore Zora Hardison, who started the last 10 matches of the season in the middle and sophomore defensive specialist Kenzie Dyrstad were invited to the U.S. women’s National Team Open Program marking the second-straight year a trio of Scarlet Knights have represented Rutgers at the event. 

#22 Alissa Kinkela – OH – R-Jr.

• Earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors
• Led RU last year with 2.99 k/s and is currently 10th among Scarlet Knight rally-era attackers with 655 career kills. 
• Led Rutgers in kills in 20 of 30 matches recording 21 double-figure kill matches and seven double-doubles.
• Among her notable performances last year was her .630 attack percentage at Columbia marking the fifth-best attack percentage in a rally-era match, a season-high 19 kills in a five-set victory at Iowa marking the most by an RU player in a five-set match in 2023, six aces versus Princeton tying for the third-most in a rally-era match and most in a rally-era five-set match and a career-high seven blocks against No. 24 Ohio State.

#8 Lexi…