FREDONIA, NY – The RIT volleyball team (9-14) split its first two matches of the Fredonia Blue Devil Classic on Friday evening, falling in straight sets to Westminster 25-13, 25-16, 25-13, then rebounding to take down LaRoche in four sets 25-17, 28-26,16-25, 25-19.

In the Tigers first match of the tournament Westminster was able to gain control right from the beginning, and never looked back, taking advantage of 16 hitting errors by RIT. 

Freshman #Sarah Szybist (Chicago, IL/Ramstein) provided most of the Tigers offense recording nine kills and two blocks over the three sets against the Titans. Sophomore (Chicago, IL/Ramstein)Sara Martin (Rochester, NY/West Irondequoit)# added four kills of her own, while #Arielle Pariente (Twinsburg, OH/Twinsburg)# earned 12 assists in the match.  Despite their effort, it was not enough to overcome a powerful Westminster team.

Match number two would go in favor of the Tigers who found themselves on the winning side of things for the first time in five matches. Right from the outset, RIT dominated the Redhawks, as Szybist hammered 24 kills for her team over the four sets.  Pariente did her part as well, recording a season high 32 assists.  The Tigers libero #Bethany Davis (Blasdell, NY/Frontier)# made her presence felt on the defensive end, gathering 20 digs. 

Tomorrow the Blue Devil Tournament resumes as RIT will look to continue their winning ways against Hilbert at 1 p.m. and against tournament host team Fredonia at 3 p.m.