ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women's volleyball team (11-9, 1-2 Liberty League) fell to Clarkson University (10-6, 4-0 Liberty League) in four sets in Liberty League action Friday evening from Clark Gym.
In the opening set, the Tigers took the 25-23 victory by scoring four points in a row, after being down 23-21.
Taylor Higgins (Peru, NY/Peru) had two kills that sealed the first set victory for RIT.
Clarkson built a 13-7 lead over RIT in the second set, but the Tigers would go on a 6-0 run to tie it. The Knights answered with a 6-0 run of their own to eventually pull away and take the set, 25-16. Clarkson would control the final two sets, rolling to 25-15 and 25-10 wins to take the match.
"I thought we came out and played a good first set," said RIT head coach
Jim Lodes. "Even for most of set two we competed, but we have to continue to trust the process and fight through the tough stretches versus a good team. We believe that we will learn from this."
Kills were 43-40 in favor of RIT, but the Tigers committed 34 hitting errors to just 14 for Clarkson. The Golden Knights also had 14 service aces to just three for the Tigers. Clarkson also dominated in blocks, recording 15 to six for RIT. Clarkson, the five-time defending Liberty League Champions, hit .361 and .364 over the final two sets.
Higgins led all players with 18 kills to go along with nine digs.
Sara Taylor (Tonawanda, NY/Kenmore East) had eight kills, while
Shelby Doheny (Moreau, NY/South Glens Falls) finished with seven kills and two blocks.
Erin Parkinson (Carrollton, TX/W.T. White) dished out 33 assists and added 13 digs, while
Rebecca Bennett (Springfield, PA/Springfield) recorded 15 digs.
Kelly Fellner (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) had four kills and three blocks.
Rachel Aird hit .524 with 11 kills and eight assisted blocks to pace the Golden Knights. Savannah Peters also had 11 kills and five blocks, while Jillian Saenz had 37 assists and eight service aces. Kate Isaksen, who entered the evening third in Division III in digs per set, had a match-high 27.
RIT leads the series between the schools 25-20.
The Tigers are back in action on Saturday afternoon at league foe St, Lawrence University. The match will get underway at 4 p.m.
