Mastodon WVB Knocks Off Rutgers and Evansville on Opening Day

Friday, August 28

Louisville, Ky.

11 AM

Purdue Fort Wayne

1-0,0-0Horizon

Rutgers

0-1,0-0Big Ten

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Rutgers	25	25	23	24	16	2
Purdue Fort Wayne	23	20	25	26	18	3

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Purdue Fort Wayne	25	25	24	25	3
Evansville	16	18	26	15	1

Lili Smith

Photo by: Rachel Von Art

Mastodon WVB Knocks Off Rutgers and Evansville on Opening Day

8/28/2026 5:59:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Rutgers Box Score Evansville Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Purdue Fort Wayne women's volleyball opened its season in a big way on Friday (Aug. 28), picking up a 3-2 win over Big Ten foe Rutgers and beating Evansville 3-1.

Purdue Fort Wayne 3, Rutgers 2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-23, 26-24, 18-16)
Trinity Rye was playing at another led to lead Purdue Fort Wayne to its first win over a Big Ten member since 1986.

The sophomore pin blew past her previous career-high of 20 kills to register 27 on Friday. She had six kills in the first set, three in the second, six in the third, seven in the fourth and five in the fifth.

While Rye took a large chunk of the Scarlet Knights' focus, Riley Rosneck did plenty of her own damage. She finished with 19 kills on a .370 clip. Meanwhile, Lili Smith dished out 48 assists (career-high) and added eight digs, six aces (career-high) and four blocks (career-high). Those six aces are a top-five mark in program history for a five-set match.

After falling behind 2-0, Purdue Fort Wayne jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the third set to put the Scarlet Knights on their heels. The 'Dons got up 23-17 before Rutgers clawed back to 24-23, but the 'Dons breathed a sigh of relief on a service error for set point.

In set four, it was a 6-0 run to put the 'Dons up 17-11 that made the difference. Smith had three of her six aces in this stretch. Rutgers answered back, ultimately turning away three set points to tie it up at 24. But like the 'Dons did all day, they went to Rye for a kill then Rosneck had an ace to extend the match to a fifth.

The 'Dons controlled the fifth from the start with a 5-2 open. From there, they did not trail until Rutgers led 15-14. An RU miscue from the service line gave the 'Dons a chance, but the same gift was given back. Then Rutgers had an error on a swing and Rosneck got a kill to set up match point. Smith and Bella DiBuono combined for the match-sealing block.

This is the Mastodons' second-ever win over a member of the Big Ten. The only other was a 3-2 win over Ohio State in the 1986 season opener.

With the loss, Rutgers fell to 0-1.

Purdue Fort Wayne 3, Evansville 1 (25-16, 25-18, 24-26, 25-15)
Just like in the opener, Rosneck caused problems for Evansville. Rosneck racked up 20 kills and Rye pitched in 14. Rosneck added 10 digs for her first double-double of the season.

After the duo split the load through the first three sets, Rosneck took over the fourth, getting five additional kills.

Despite some big numbers from the two pins, the afternoon match was more defense-oriented for the Mastodons. They held Evansville to .062 hitting, including -.111 in the first, .073 in the second and .000 in the fourth.

The 'Dons hopped out to an 11-5 lead in the first set thanks to six-straight attack errors from UE. Mya Plemons had two of her match-high eight blocks in this stretch. Evansville threatened by getting within two at 17-15 and 18-16, but four kills in a row for the 'Dons started a seven-point run to go up 1-0.

The second set also featured an early lead for Purdue Fort Wayne, this time an 8-1 stretch that Rosneck capped with an ace. After the Mastodons went up 18-7, there was no real threat, and Evansville got no closer than four.

After Evansville took a tight set three, the Mastodons blew out the Purple Aces in the fourth. UE had just nine kills in the set while committing nine attack errors and two service errors.

Becky Barrett added 11 digs after going for 17 in the morning match. She is 13 away from 1,000 in her career. Smith dished out over 40 assists again, totaling 92 on day one of the season.

Purdue Fort Wayne improved to 2-0, while Evansville fell to 0-1. The Mastodons will play against Evansville on Saturday (Aug. 29) at 10 a.m. before making the trip back to Fort Wayne.

~ Feel the Rumble ~