ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT volleyball team (12-5, 6-2 Liberty League) completed its second consecutive 3-1 weekend in league crossover play after a pair of victories over Bard College in three sets (2-14, 0-7 Liberty League) and Union College (10-6, 1-2 Liberty League) in five sets at Vassar College on Saturday afternoon.

In the opener, RIT rolled to a 25-16 win in the first set over Bard. In set two, RIT trailed 13-5 early and 20-16 late, before scoring nine of the final 10 points to earn a 25-21 win. In the final set, RIT led throughout en route to a 25-19 victory.

Senior Sarah Szybist (Colorado Springs, CO/Ramstein) was tremendous for the Tigers in the win over Bard, hitting .571, while slamming 22 kills, to go along with eight digs. Sophomore Erin Parkinson (Carrollton, TX/W.T. White) dished out 35 assists and added eight digs, while junior Rebecca Bennett (Springfield, PA/Springfield) had a team-best 10 digs. Junior Anna Valentine (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) added seven kills and six digs, while freshman Joelle Marston (Roxbury, NJ/Roxbury) had four kills and four digs, while junior Meritt Rogers (Boxborough, MA/Acton-Boxborough) slammed three kills.

Overall, RIT had 44 kills to 21 for Bard.

Philipinne Alba led the Raptors with eight kills and eight digs, while Maracela Talamantes added 12 assists.

"We played good first contact in this match," said RIT head coach Jim Lodes. "Our serve receive and defense was very balanced and athletic, which gave us many offensive options. This was a good match with many contributing to our team success."

Against Union, the two teams traded set wins throughout. RIT opened with a 25-17 win set one before Union evened the match with a 25-20 victory in the second set. In set three, RIT rolled to a 25-10 win before Union once again came back with a 25-16 win in the fourth set. RIT took control in the fifth and decisive set with a 15-10 victory.

Overall, RIT had 55 kills and hit .260 as a team, including marks of .375 in the first set and .409 in set two.

Szybist slammed a match-high 28 kills, while hitting .355 with 13 digs and three blocks. Parkinson added 42 assists, four service aces, and four kills, while Maria Simonetti (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) and Bennett recorded 18 digs apiece and Valentine had 17 digs. Marston slammed 10 kills, while Liz Wunder (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan Academy) hit .400 in the middle with six kills and a team-high four blocks.

Ally VanDoren led Union with 16 kills, while Amanda Price had 38 assists and five service aces, and Katherine Moeller added a match-high 28 digs.

"This was a good battle, against a good Union team," said Lodes. "We maintained composure when Union picked up their defense. Overall, this was another good Liberty League weekend for us. The team should be proud of their resiliency and effort."

Last night, the Tigers fell to Vassar in three sets and knocked off Skidmore in three sets. The Tigers wrap up Liberty League regular season play on Oct. 7-8 at Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

RIT is back in action on Wednesday, as they make the quick trip to take on Rochester from The Palestra at 6 p.m.