Women's Volleyball | 10/6/2009 10:23:16 PM

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ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women's volleyball team (14-10) celebrated “Real Tigers Dig Pink” night by getting back in the win column, defeating SUNY Geneseo (16-11) 25-23, 25-15, 21-25, 25-27, 15-13 in a five-set thriller at Clark Gym on Tuesday evening.

The Tigers wore special pink jerseys to commemorate the event. All proceeds will go towards The Side-Out Foundation, which fights breast cancer through the sport of volleyball.

With the match tied at 13 in the fifth and decisive set, senior middle hitter Victoria Petko (East Amherst, NY/Clarence) slammed a kill off an assist by Christina Worth (Valencia, CA/Valencia) to make it 14-13 Tigers. On the next possession, Petko and freshman Katie Cooper (New Canaan, CT/New Canaan) combined to secure the winning point on a block.

Freshman Rebecca Moore (San Diego, CA/Rancho Bernardo) was a force all evening for the Tigers, leading the way offensively with 15 kills, while hitting .300.  Petko slammed 14 kills, while recording a season-best nine blocks, to go along with nine digs.  Cooper recorded 10 kills and five blocks.  Worth dished out a season-high 41 assists to go along with four service aces.  Audrey DiPoala (Victor, NY/Victor) compiled 16 digs.

Krista Frieling and Jesse Stephenson led the way offensively for the Knights with 11 kills apiece. Laura Galvin dished out 25 assists, while senior Jess McKenna led the way defensively with 22 digs.

Set one was a back and forth affair. SUNY Geneseo led 19-15 before RIT rallied to tie the set at 22. After Geneseo went up 23-22, Petko slammed two straight kills to give RIT the lead, 24-23. Freshman Melanie Springer (Frederick, MD/Governor Thomas Johnson) secured the set for RIT with a service ace to the left corner.

Set two was tied at 15, before Worth and RIT took over, scoring the final 10 points. She started the run with a kill and service ace to put RIT up 17-15. Cat Sullivan (Lehman, PA/Lake-Lehman) recorded a devastating block to give RIT a 21-15 lead. Worth then punctuated the set victory with three straight aces to close it out.

Geneseo held a 17-10 lead in game three before RIT tried to surge back. Geneseo held on however, as a combined block by Galvin and Strickland quelled the RIT rally, 23-18. The set ended on a pair of RIT hitting errors.

The Knights rallied in the fourth set, from 19-15 down to earn a 27-25 victory. Down 24-23, Frieling recorded a kill and an ace to put Geneseo up 25-24. Moore responded with a kill for RIT to tie the match. After a Tiger hitting error, Joanne Smith put the set away with a kill that tipped off a pair of Tigers and landed in the center of the court.

Before the match, RIT honored seniors Ashlie Baker (Northridge, UT/Northridge) and Petko, who were playing in their final regular season home match.

RIT exacted revenge, as on September 18, Geneseo handed the Tigers a three-set defeat at the RIT Invitational.

The Tigers are back in action on Friday and Saturday at the Worthington Classic hosted by Gallaudet. RIT plays St. Vincent at 3 p.m. and Gallaudet at 7 p.m.