ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY – The RIT volleyball team (7-5, 0-2 Liberty League) opened up Liberty League play by dropping a pair of matches hosted by Bard College on Friday. The Tigers began the evening by falling in three sets to No. 16 Clarkson (13-2, 2-0 Liberty League) then lost to St. Lawrence (9-5, 1-1 Liberty League) in four sets.
 
In the opener, Clarkson controlled play from start to finish, defeating RIT by scores of 25-15, 25-10, 25-8. The Golden Knights hit .386 as a team, including .476 in the second set. Clarkson had 39 kills in the match to just 15 by RIT.
 
The match was delayed 30 minutes, as RIT's bus broke down on the way to Bard.
 
For RIT, Sarah Szybist (Chicago, IL/Ramstein) led the squad with eight kills and two blocks. She was the lone Tiger with more than two kills in the match. Laiz Novaes (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Centro Educational) had 10 assists and three digs, while Rebecca Bennett (Springfield, PA/Springfield) added five digs and two service aces. Bethany Davis (Blasdell, NY/Frontier) tallied a team-high six digs.
 
Alshvina Arasu led the Golden Knights with 11 kills, hitting an impressive .647 in the match. Victoria Kiremko added nine digs, eight kills, and four service aces, while Kirstie Shurle dished out 29 assists. Evanne Jimenez led Clarkson with 14 digs.
 
I really expect us to compete better during Liberty League matches," said RIT head coach Jim Lodes. "I thought we were flat for most of this match. Give credit to Clarkson keeping the pressure on us."
 
In the second match, RIT dropped the first two sets, 25-21, 25-18, before winning set three, 25-22. RIT led for most of the fourth set before St. Lawrence went on an 8-2 run late to take control.
 
Szybist led the Tigers by slamming 20 kills do along with a team-best eight digs. Amy Van Hienen (Castor, Alberta/Gus Wetter) and Abby Higgins (Peru, NY/Peru) had six and five kills, respectively. Novaes added 33 assists and five digs. Higgins also had a team-best four service aces.
 
Cristina Deschaine led St. Lawrence with 16 kills, while hitting .400. Katie Kull and Katarina Marczeski combined for 35 assists, while Mariah Dignan recorded 14 digs.
 
"I thought we had many opportunities in this match," said Lodes. "St. Lawrence is relentless. We need to stay confident, energetic and work hard during every play."

The Tigers are right back in action on Saturday with matches against host Vassar at 12 p.m. and Bard at 2 p.m.