PITTSFORD, NY – Senior Bethany Davis (Blasdell, NY/Frontier) became the third player in the history of the RIT volleyball program to reach 2,000 digs for her career, as the RIT volleyball team (18-11) extended its winning streak to five matches with a 25-23, 26-24, 25-20 win over St. John Fisher (9-19) in a non-league contest from Manning Napier Varsity Gym on Tuesday evening.
 
Davis recorded a team-high 12 digs, giving her 2,008 for her career, passing Christina Anabel '06 for second place all-time at the university. Davis needs just 45 digs to surpass Krissy Caton '99, who had 2,052 from 1995-98.
 
The first set was a back-and-forth affair that RIT pulled out late. Down 23-22, RIT took advantage of a Fisher attacking error, and then used a service ace from Rebecca Bennett (Springfield, PA/Springfield), and kill from Laiz Novaes (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Centro Educational) to win the set, 25-23.
 
In set two, RIT enjoyed an early lead before Fisher came back to lead 20-17 late. The Tigers would claw back to score the next three points and then take a 24-23 lead on a kill by Sarah Szybist (Chicago, IL/Ramstein). After Fisher tied it at 24-24 on a kill by Anna Marcy, the Tigers took advantage of back-to-back errors, one hitting, and one setting to win 26-24 and take a commanding 2-0 lead.
 
RIT would lead throughout the third and final set, by as much as 9-4 early. Fisher would make its final run, getting it to 19-18 late, but RIT would score six of the final eight points, ending the match on back-to-back kills from Abby Higgins (Peru, NY/Peru) and Kayla Wheeler (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa).
 
In what was a very close, match, RIT had 42 points to St. John Fisher's 37 and hit .227 overall. There was only one block, by Fisher and just seven total service aces.
 
"I'm really happy with our resilience tonight," said RIT head coach Jim Lodes. "St. John Fisher was relentless tonight and we found a way to bear down and score points when we needed to. I hope this keeps us aggressive for our matches this weekend."
 
Szybist, who recently went over 1,000 kills last Friday vs. Vassar, surpassed 1,100 kills for her career, leading the way with 13. Novaes had seven kills and six digs, while Higgins hit .364 with five kills, and Sara Martin (Rochester, NY/West Irondequoit) also had five kills. Emma Dowdy (Cocoa, FL/Edgewood) dished out 30 assists and added eight digs.
 
Paige Willson celebrated her senior night by hitting .643 with a team-high nine kills to lead St. John Fisher. Anna Marcy also added nine kills, while Katie Mazierski recorded a team-best 20 digs. The duo of Erica Stickler and Brooke Meader combined for 24 assists.

The Tigers conclude Liberty League play this weekend at Union and Skidmore. On Friday, the Tigers play Clarkson at 6 p.m. and St. Lawrence at 8 p.m. at Union. On Saturday, the Tigers play at host Skidmore at 12 p.m. and Union at 2 p.m.
 
RIT can finish as high as first and as low as fifth depending on what happens this weekend.