NEW YORK, NY – The RIT volleyball team (21-17) wrapped up the 2016 regular season by splitting a pair of matches at the New York State Regional Challenge hosted by New York University on the campus of Hunter College Saturday. RIT defeated host NYU (14-14) in five sets, before falling to Montclair State University (23-8) in four sets.
 
"We had small stretches where we didn't convert our opportunities," said RIT head coach Jim Lodes. "Despite that, I thought we competed hard in both matches. This was another good weekend to figure out what will take to compete at the higher level necessary to achieve our goals."

In the opener, RIT cruised to wins in the first two sets by identical 25-20 scores, before NYU came back to take sets three and four, 25-18 and 25-19. The Tigers, who struggled offensively in the third and fourth sets, rebounded to hit .571 with nine kills in the fifth and decisive set, winning 15-8.
 
RIT had 58 kills to 40 for NYU and won the battle of digs, 94-87. NYU had 11 blocks to four for RIT.
 
Senior Sarah Szybist (Colorado Springs, CO/Ramstein), who was named to the All-Tournament Team, led all players on the floor with 19 kills to go along with 23 digs. Liz Wunder (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan Academy) added 11 kills and three blocks, while Joelle Marston (Roxbury, NJ/Roxbury) slammed 10 kills. Erin Parkinson (Carrollton, TX/W.T. White) recorded 45 assists, 14 digs, and three service aces, while Anna Valentine (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) led the Tigers with 24 digs. Rebecca Bennett (Springfield, PA/Springfield) had 15 digs and Sarah DelVecchio (Galway, NY/Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons) added eight kills.
 
Rayne Ellis led NYU with 14 kills and four solo blocks, while Grace Napolitano added 24 digs. Zel Fortson led the Violets with 25 assists.
 
The Tigers won set one over Montclair State, 25-19 before the Red Hawks took set two, 25-17. In set three, RIT rallied from 24-20 down to tie before the Red Hawks scored the next points and won 26-24. RIT led by as many as five, at 15-10 and held a 20-16 led in the fourth set before Montclair State rallied for the 25-23 victory.
 
RIT had 51 kills to 41 by Montclair State, but the Red Hawks recorded 15 service aces to just five for the Tigers.
 
Against Montclair State, Wunder continued her strong play, hitting .480 with 16 kills and three blocks to tie for the team lead for the team lead in both categories. Szybist added 16 kills and 15 digs, while Parkinson added 41 assists, 22 digs, and three blocks. Marston had 11 digs and five kills, while Valentine and DelVecchio combined for 11 kills. Arielle Pariente (Twinsburg, OH/Twinsburg) had two service aces.

Szybist moved into sixth place all-time in NCAA Division III history with 2,538 career kills.
 
Ashley Griffith led the Red Hawks with 35 assists and five service aces, while Danielle Olcese had 24 digs. Madison Maute, Hayley Merrill, Courtney Matlock, and Rebecca Matasker had eight kills each to lead the way.
 
Last night, the Tigers began play at the New York State Regional Challenge with a three-set loss to Stevens Institute of Technology.
 
RIT will begin its postseason quest on Friday, Nov. 4 in the Liberty League Tournament. RIT, the No. 4 seed, will take on top-seed Vassar in the second semifinal Friday at 7:30 p.m. If RIT wins, they will compete for the Liberty League Championship on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 4 p.m. from Vassar.