Women's Volleyball | 8/31/2013 3:15:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

CAZENOVIA, NY - The RIT volleyball team split a pair of matches on Saturday to finish 3-1 at the Cazenovia Blue and Gold Tournament in its opening weekend of the 2013 season. The Tigers opened play by rallying from two sets down to defeat Lasell in five sets, then ended the tournament with a four-set loss to Houghton. First-year hitter Sarah Szybist (Chicago, IL/Ramstein) was named to the All-Tournament Team.

In the opener on Saturday, RIT dropped the first two sets to Lasell by scores of 25-14 and 25-18 before roaring back to win the next three, 25-23, 27-25, and 15-10 for its third straight victory.

Szybist led the way offensively with 20 kills and five service aces in the comeback victory. Sara Martin (Rochester, NY/West Irondequoit) chipped in with 18 digs, 13 kills, and a career-best six service aces, while Lindsay Quandt (Houston, TX/Houston Christian) recorded 23 digs. Bethany Davis (Blasdell, NY/Frontier) dished out a career-best 27 assists to go along with 14 digs. Emma Dowdy (Cocoa, FL/Edgewood) had 15 digs and six assists, while Arielle Pariente (Twinsburg, OH/Twinsburg) added eight assists.

The Tigers tried for a perfect weekend, but were unable to do so, losing the finale to Houghton in four sets. RIT took the first set 25-22, then lost the next three by scores of 25-22, 25-16, and 25-21.

Szybist led RIT with 16 kills and six solo blocks, while Davis dished out 20 assists and had nine digs. Pariente added 13 assists, while Dowdy and Quandt led RIT with 14 digs apiece. Dowdy added seven kills, while Martin had five kills and two aces. Amanda White (Watertown, NY/Watertown) hit .500 with four kills.

Yesterday, RIT opened play in the tournament with a four-set win over Alfred and a three-set victory over Baptist Bible.

RIT returns to action next Friday and Saturday at the Nazareth Golden Flyer Tournament. RIT opens on Friday with a match against the hosts at 2 p.m., then plays Hilbert at 8 p.m.