SPRINGFIELD, MA – The RIT volleyball team (3-1) won a pair of hard-fought matches at the Springfield College Invitational on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers knocked off Gordon College in five sets and dispatched Framingham State in four sets. Senior outside hitter Sarah Szybist (Colorado Springs, CO/Ramstein) was named to the All-Tournament Team.

In the opener against Gordon, the two teams swapped wins in each of the five sets. RIT took the opening set, 25-17 before Gordon took set two, 25-23. RIT won a wild third set, 29-27, before Gordon won the fourth set, 25-17. RIT was strong in the fifth and decisive set, rolling to a 15-4 victory.

The Tigers hit .579 with 11 kills in just 19 attempts without an error in the decisive set. RIT had 58 kills to Gordon's 36, and won the battle of the digs, 62-38.

Szybist was brilliant in the opening match, slamming 34 kills in 57 attempts for a .456 hitting percentage to go along with nine digs, a team-best five service aces, and three blocks. Both her 34 kills and 41 points were the second most in a match in her three-plus seasons with the Tigers.

Junior captain Anna Valentine (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) recorded a double-double, leading the squad with 14 digs to go along with 11 kills and five assists. Sophomore Erin Parkinson (Carrollton, TX/W.T. White) dished out 35 assists and added seven digs, while Montana Vescovi (Le Roy, NY/Le Roy) added 15 helpers. Maria Simonetti (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) and Rebecca Bennett (Springfield, PA/Springfield) combined for 22 digs, while Sarah DelVecchio (Galway, NY/Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons) had a team-best four assisted blocks.

Jamie Tafoya led a balanced Gordon attack with eight kills, while Renee Cooprider dished out 26 assists and Kristen Cooprider added 10 digs.

"I really liked that many people contributed in this victory," said RIT head coach Jim Lodes. "We settled in and found a way to get it done. I'm proud of our resilience."

The Tigers took their second match of the day against Framingham State in four sets. RIT won the opening set, 25-19, before the Rams evened the match with a 25-21 win in set two. The Tigers regrouped and pulled away, winning the next two sets, 25-17, 25-16. The Tigers had 54 kills to Framingham State's 31.

Once again, Szybist led the way offensively, slamming 19 kills to go along with nine digs, five service aces and five blocks. With the 53 kills on Saturday, Szybist moved into third all-time at the university with 1,877 career kills. She is just 30 kills shy of second and 100 away from the school record of 1,977, held by Tracy Wilt, who played from 1995-98.

Sophomore Sara Taylor (Tonawanda, NY/Kenmore East) slammed 14 kills, while DelVecchio hit .600 with 10 kills. Parkinson dished out 43 assists and added eight digs. Simonetti compiled a match-high 15 digs, while freshman Shelby Doheny (Moreau, NY/South Glens Falls) added a team-best seven blocks.

Alycia Rackliffe led the Rams with 13 kills and seven blocks, while Molly Meehan dished out 32 assists and Sarah Leonard had 12 digs.

"We probably played our most complete match against Framingham," said Lodes. "I really liked our ball control. We did a really good job in serve reception and on defense. The quality of our first ball contacts allowed us to be more versatile offensively and develop a greater rhythm. I feel we took steps this weekend towards our goals"

RIT is right back in action on Tuesday, with its home opener against Keuka College. Action from Clark Gym gets underway at 4 p.m.