ROCHESTER, NY – On a night in which the RIT women's volleyball team celebrated its seniors, the Tigers (18-17, 7-5 Liberty League) fell in a dramatic five sets to SUNY Geneseo (15-16, 3-6 SUNYAC) in front of a raucous crowd of 650 fans at Clark Gym on Wednesday evening.
 
RIT honored seniors Taylor Harkness (Batavia, NY/Batavia), Laiz Novaes (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Centro Educational), Kayla Wheeler (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), Abby Higgins (Peru, NY/Peru), Amy Van Hienen (Castor, Alberta/Gus Wetter), and Sara Martin (Rochester, NY/West Irondequoit) before the 6 p.m. match. Once play started, it provided a bunch of drama, featuring two sets that were decided by extra points, including a 62-point second set, eight players with double digits in digs, and 104 combined kills.
 
For RIT, Sarah Szybist (Chicago, IL/Ramstein) led with 20 kills, adding six digs. Van Hienen led both teams with five service aces, adding seven kills and 14 digs. Rebecca Bennett (Springfield, PA/Springfield) led the five Tigers with 20 digs. Harkness added 13 kills, and Erin Parkinson (Carrollton, TX/W.T. White) set a career-high with 51 assists to go along with 17 digs. Higgins added 15 digs, while Novaes had 14 digs and nine kills.
 
For the Knights, Tricia Baxley recorded a double-double, finishing with 14 kills and 15 digs, adding two service aces. Paige Pendleton led both teams in blocks with seven, and Emily Ast paced the Geneseo attack with 37 assists. Libero Danielle Sayler had a match-high 24 digs.

"I want to give full credit to Geneseo," said RIT head coach Jim Lodes. "They competed. We had stretches where we executed but still need to consistently finish the opportunities that we create. We have the talent to make those plays and need to continue to execute at a higher percentage when earning those opportunities."
 
Set one saw Geneseo jump out to leads of 5-1, and 17-11, with RIT fighting back to get into the game. With the score 22-17, the Tigers answered with six straight points, as an attack error by the Knights gave the Tigers a 23-22 lead. With the Tigers one point away from taking the first set, Geneseo scored three straight points to steal the set, winning 26-24.
 
The second set was a classic, in which both teams traded leads throughout. This time, it was the Knights who were two points away from taking the set, at 23-18, when the Tigers scored six straight points to put them in a position to steal the set. From there, both teams again traded points, with the Knights and the Tigers each one point away from taking the set, before the other team makes a run to stay in the game. With Geneseo once again one point away from taking the set, at 30-29, RIT came back with three straight points to win the marathon set, capped off by a Harkness kill to bring the winning score to 32-30.
 
The third frame started off just like the first two, with both teams keeping the game close. Down 11-9, the Tigers scored eight of the next nine points, using that run to help them take a commanding lead late in the set. Martin provided the closing point, as her kill gave the Tigers the 25-16 set win.
 
RIT took a slim 18-17 lead, looking to take control of the match in the fourth set. The Knights went on a 7-2 run to take a 24-20 lead. Despite a Tiger rally in which Parkinson and Szybist provided kills, Geneseo took the set, 25-22 thanks to a service error. In the fifth, both teams went back and forth before Geneseo took control.

The Tigers conclude the regular season weekend at the New York State Regional Challenge hosted by Nazareth College.