ROCHESTER, NY — The RIT (7-4, 1-1 Liberty League) women's volleyball team opened up Liberty League play with a split at Clark Gym on Friday evening. The Tigers opened with a three-set victory over St. Lawrence (4-7, 0-2 Liberty League), followed by a five-set loss to Clarkson (7-3, 2-0 Liberty League).
Against St. Lawrence, the Tigers controlled the first two sets, winning by scores of 25-17 and 25-16, respectively. The third set, St. Lawrence pushed back and the Tigers had to make a late comeback. The Tigers fell to a 24-22 deficit, but fought off three set points and took the set 27-25.
"I'm really excited for the way we started and I thought we worked really hard," said head coach Jim Lodes. "We matched the energy of St. Lawrence and they're a very good, energetic team. I'm very pleased with the outcome, but we still have three big matches left."
Senior outside hitter Sarah Szybist (Colorado Springs, CO/Ramstein) surpassed 2,000 career kills in the match. Her match-high 20 kills puts her at 2,018 at RIT. She also added 10 digs and three aces against the Saints. Sophomore setter Erin Parkinson (Carrollton, TX/W.T. White) also contributed for the Tigers. Her 32 assists led the floor, while she added four digs and an ace as well. Sara Taylor (Tonawanda, NY/Kenmore East) added seven kills, while freshman Joelle Marston (Roxbury, NJ/Roxbury), making her collegiate debut, added four kills. Rebecca Bennett (Springfield, PA/Springfield) added five digs and four service aces, while Anna Valentine (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) recorded nine digs.
Katie Kull lead St. Lawrence with 16 assists, three digs and two kills. Masha Kolesnikova had the most kills for the Saints, with seven, while Ally Good lead in digs, with 10.
In the second match of the night for the Tigers, they took a commanding two set lead after a come-from-behind 30-28 win in the first set and a commanding 25-9 win in the second. Clarkson then took the third set 25-18 and just held off a comeback effort by the Tigers in the fourth (25-23). The fifth and decisive set was taken by the Golden Knights 15-7, as they extend their league winning streak to 45 matches, spanning four seasons.
"I'm really excited about a lot of the things that we did tonight and I think we're realizing that when we take care of ourselves that we can compete at a high level," said Lodes. "Now we just need to find the rhythm and consistency of playing at that level."
Szybist again led the Tigers with 25 kills, along with 13 digs, while Parkinson had a double-double, with a match-high 35 assists and 17 digs. Junior Anna Valentine (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) had 13 digs and 10 assists as well for the Tigers, as Bennett added 20 digs. Sarah DelVecchio (Galway, NY/Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons) hit .615 with nine kills and five blocks. Maria Simonetti (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) led the way with five service aces.
Kate Isasksen led Clarkson's comeback on the defensive side with a match-high 23 digs, while Jillian Seanz had 32 assists. Racheal Aird also had 12 kills for the Golden Knights. Sierra Rhodes added 22 digs, while Rachel Reusch had nine kills and seven blocks.
RIT returns to action tomorrow for more Liberty League action against Bard (2-8, 1-1 Liberty League) at 12 p.m. and Vassar (5-6, 1-1 Liberty League) at 4 p.m.
