POTSDAM, NY – The RIT volleyball team finished its final Liberty League weekend trip of the season with a split on Saturday. The Tigers (17-15, 6-5 Liberty League) dropped a four-set decision to No. 17 Clarkson (23-6, 11-0 Liberty League), before rallying to defeat Skidmore (8-22, 2-10 Liberty League) in three sets. With the result, the Tigers finish the regular season tied for third in the league standings with St. Lawrence, both teams 7-5 in conference play.
 
In the first match against Clarkson, RIT fought hard against one of the top teams in the nation. The first set went Clarkson's way, as they fell 25-15. In set two, the Tigers responded after a 20-16 deficit, going 9-3 the rest of the way to take the 25-23 set victory from a pair of service aces by Erin Parkinson (Carrollton, TX/W.T. White) and Liz Wunder (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan Academy) helping to shut down the Golden Knights. RIT couldn't keep that momentum up in set three, as Clarkson took command of the game with a 25-11 win. Set four was more of the same, with Clarkson winning 25-13 to close out the match.
 
The Tigers were led in game one by Sarah Szybist (Chicago, IL/Ramstein), who had 15 kills. Parkinson had a solid all around match with 28 assists, two service aces, and 10 digs. Rebecca Bennett (Springfield, PA/Springfield) also added two service aces, with a team-high 12 digs.
 
"I thought we did some good things this match," said RIT volleyball head coach Jim Lodes. "When our energy and belief is high we have good stretches of competing. We need to trust ourselves to bring that mentality every play. Then the process will take care of itself."
 
In match two against Skidmore, it was the Tigers who jumped out to an early lead and did not look back. The first set saw RIT jumping out to a 7-1 run to take control of the frame, winning 25-15. The second set was much tighter, but four kills in the set by Wunder gave the Tigers enough momentum to get the 25-18 set win. In the final set, the Tigers were again put in a battle by Skidmore, but pulled out the 25-18 win for the match.
 
Parkinson led the Tigers in the second game with a double-double: 37 assists, and 10 digs. Szybist lead the team in kills, with 16, adding seven digs. Taylor Harkness (Batavia, NY/Batavia) added seven kills and a block.
 
"We played a fundamentally sound match," said Lodes. "We also did a much better job of running our side-out offense. This was a good win."
 
The Tigers will travel to Brockport, N.Y. to take on SUNY Brockport on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 6 p.m.