HOBOKEN, NJ - The RIT volleyball team (20-15) split a pair of matches Friday at the New York State Regional Challenge hosted by Stevens Institute of Technology. The Tigers surpassed the 20-win plateau with a three-set win over Elmira College (7-20). The Tigers fell to Montclair State (23-8) in four sets in the night cap.

RIT cruised in the opener by scores of 25-12, 25-20, 25-15.

Versus Elmira, sophomore Sarah Szybist (Chicago, IL/Ramstein) hit .485 with 17 kills on 33 attempts. She added seven digs and had two blocks to pace the Tigers. Emma Dowdy (Cocoa, FL/Edgewood) dished out 27 assists, while Bethany Davis (Blasdell, NY/Frontier) and Laiz Novaes (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Centro Educational) had 16 and 12 digs respectively. Dowdy and Abby Higgins (Peru, NY/Peru) added a pair of service aces.

Sami Haines had 20 assists for Elmira, while Paola Ortiz added 13 digs.

"I'm pleased with how we opened the tournament," said head coach Jim Lodes. "Elmira works hard and we found stretches to compete."

Against Montclair State, RIT battled, but could not get the win, losing the first two sets, 25-22, 25-23, before winning set three, 25-22. Montclair would win the final set, 25-22 to win the match.

Szybist had 21 kills and five blocks, while Amy Van Hienen (Castor, Alberta/Gus Wetter) added 13 kills and 11 digs. Novaes dished out 25 assists and Dowdy added 17 helpers. Davis had a team-high 30 digs, while Kayla Wheeler (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) chipped in with five blocks.

"Montclair State is one of the best defensive teams we've played this season," said Lodes. "We had several opportunities to win the sets. We just didn't capitalize. Each of our remaining matches this weekend and next weekend at Liberty League Championships will require us to step up in those situations if we expect to compete."

RIT wraps up the regular season on Saturday at the NYS Regional Challenge. The Tigers play Rowan University at 10 a.m. and New York University at 2 p.m.