| 12/31/2003 9:14:29 AM

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ROCHESTER, NY -- The women's volleyball team were one match away from a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Unfortunately the second-seeded Tigers came up a bit short in the championship game of the Empire 8 Tournament, losing to top-seeded Nazareth College, 3-1 (32-30, 16-30, 14-30, 17-30).

RIT got to the championship match with a thrilling five-game match versus Ithaca in the semifinals. The Tigers defeated the Bombers 30-25, 19-30, 30-21, 19-30 and 15-12. The match went back and forth and culminated in a thrilling win by the Tigers in the fifth and deciding game. In that game RIT fell behind 5-2 early on. But, RIT battled back and tied the score at 7-7 on a kill by Dani Fisher (Pittsburgh, PA/Plum Borough) and a service ace by Laurie Underhill (East Aurora, NY/Mercy Academy). Ithaca came back and rattled off three straight points, taking a 10-7 lead. The Tigers would not be denied as they battled back and pulled to within a point at 11-12. Missy Groginski (Brewertown, NY/Paul V. Moore) and Fisher each had kills in the stretch that helped RIT gain the momentum. After an Ithaca time out Groginski gave RIT a 13-12 lead with one of her four kills in the fifth game. Ithaca hit the ball out of bounds on match-point giving RIT the win, advancing them to the championship game versus Nazareth.

Missy Groginski (Brewertown, NY/Paul V. Moore) led RIT versus Ithaca with 17 kills and 18 digs, while Dani Fisher (Pittsburgh, PA/Plum Borough) added seven kills and three blocks. Sarah Ballard (Lakeview, NY/Frontier) had 34 assists and 11 digs.

In the championship match RIT came out strong, winning the first game 32-30. However the Golden Flyers dominated the rest of the match. Missy Groginski (Brewertown, NY/Paul V. Moore) had eight kills and four digs versus Nazareth. Dani Fisher (Pittsburgh, PA/Plum Borough) had four kills and three blocks. Christina Anabel (Apalachin, NY/Vestal) added nine kills and nine digs, while Sarah Ballard (Lakeview, NY/Frontier) had 29 assists and 12 digs. RIT is now 23-15 on the season