Rutgers volleyball gave its Senior Night crowd at College Ave Gym a result worth remembering, outlasting Maryland in five sets on Friday night and moving a step closer to one of the final Big Ten Tournament spots.
The Scarlet Knights won 3-2, taking the match 24-26, 25-22, 25-22, 20-25, 15-12. Maryland grabbed the opening set, Rutgers answered with back-to-back wins, the Terps forced a fifth, and the Scarlet Knights finished the job at home.
The victory pushed Rutgers to 13-15 overall and 4-12 in Big Ten play. The team is now tied for 14th in the conference, with 15 teams advancing to the tournament.
USC is also in the mix at 4-11 with games remaining against Washington and UCLA, while Ohio State sits at 4-11 as well and is tied with Rutgers in 14th. Maryland fell to 3-13 with the loss.
Rutgers closes the regular season against Penn State, and Iowa is at 2-13 with Nebraska and Illinois still left.
The Big Ten Tournament bracket will be released after Tuesday night’s games.
Malia Romes, Skylar George and Natalie Robinson all finished in double figures in kills. Romes led Rutgers with 19, George added 12 and Robinson had 10.
Lily Bolen reached a milestone with her 100th career ace, becoming the third Scarlet Knight in the rally era to hit that mark. She is seven aces away from the rally-era lead.
Bolen also posted a season-high 31 assists and 14 digs for her 22nd career double-double and ninth of the season. Her 22 career double-doubles moved her into a tie for fifth on Rutgers’ all-time list.
Rutgers also controlled the service line, finishing with a 6-3 edge in aces. Bolen was one of five Scarlet Knights with an ace, and Kenzie Dyrstad added two while leading the team with 18 digs.
Robinson was a force at the net, piling up eight blocks, just one shy of her career high. Two of those stops were solo blocks, and Rutgers finished with a 13-9 advantage in blocks.
The first set was a tug-of-war from the start, with 12 ties and four lead changes before Maryland finally edged ahead. The Terps built a 14-10 lead, but Rutgers clawed back to 16-16.
After Maryland moved back in front, the Scarlet Knights answered with a 4-1 burst, capped by Bolen’s 100th career ace to tie it at 20-20. The teams traded points again late, with George and Imani Howell combining on the left pin for the final tie at 24-24, but Maryland took the last two points to steal the set.
George, Avery Jesewitz and Robinson each had three kills in the opener.
Rutgers settled in during the second set after falling behind by five midway through. The Scarlet Knights worked their way back and eventually tied it at 20-20 on a cross-court swing from Romes. From there, Rutgers closed on a 5-2 run, finishing it off with a Howell kill down the middle and a Maryland attack error.
The third set belonged to Rutgers for most of the way. A 5-2 run put the Scarlet Knights ahead 13-9, and they never gave the lead back.
George helped stretch the margin to 21-15 with one of her five kills in the frame, and even after Maryland made a late push and saved three set points, a Terps attack error gave Rutgers the 2-1 match lead. Romes added five kills in the set as well.
Maryland answered in the fourth. The Terps scored six straight to go into the middle break up 15-11 and stayed in front from there.
Rutgers trimmed the gap to one after back-to-back Romes kills and a Maryland attack error, but the Terps kept control. Romes finished the set with six kills.
The regular season ends Tuesday, Nov. 17 at No. 10 Penn State, and the 15-team 2026 Big Ten Volleyball Tournament bracket will be unveiled that same day.
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