ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY – Senior captain Rebecca Bennett (Springfield, PA/Springfield) surpassed the 1,000-dig milestone, helping lead the RIT volleyball team (9-5, 1-1 Liberty League) to a pair of wins on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers earned their first conference win in three sets at Liberty League foe Bard College (3-11, 0-2 Liberty League) and knocked off non-conference opponent SUNY Poly (4-8) in three sets.

Bennett had eight digs in the opener against Bard and 11 against SUNY Poly to give her 1,002 at RIT.

Against Bard, RIT was in control from the outset, winning by scores of 25-12, 25-11, 25-12. Fifteen Tigers saw action in the win.

Freshman Taylor Higgins (Peru, NY/Peru) continued her strong play, hitting .385 with 12 kills, six digs and three service aces. Sophomore Joelle Marston (Roxbury, NJ/Roxbury) added six kills, while junior Erin Parkinson (Carrollton, TX/W.T. White) dished out 23 assists. Bennett led the squad with her eight digs, while Shelby Doheny (Moreau, NY/South Glens Falls) and Parkinson had a pair of blocks apiece. Freshman Paige Daly (Allison Park, PA/Hampton) had three aces, while classmate Hannah Sarakin (Woodcliff Lake, NJ/Pascack Hills) hit .375 in two sets. Kathryn Vogl (West Seneca, NY/St. Mary's) added five digs and two kills.

Alexis Akingblade led the Raptors with five kills, while Philipine Alba and Emily Anastasi had 13 digs apiece.

"I was really impressed with our purposeful play against Bard," said RIT head coach Jim Lodes. "We played a systematic match with everyone contributing. This was a good bounce back win for us. We like how the team approached and executed."

Against SUNY Poly, RIT trailed early, but rallied to win set one, 25-22. RIT took it up a notch in the final two sets, rolling to big leads before winning 25-17 and 25-20. The Tigers hit .337 in the match with 41 kills.

Marston hit .333 with 13 kills, while Higgins had 11 kills, eight digs and four service aces. Bennett had 11 digs, including the 1,000th of her career in the third set. Sophomore Sarah DelVecchio (Galway, NY/Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons) hit a career-high .700 in the match with seven kills in just 10 attempts. Doheny had five kills and two blocks, while Sara Taylor (Tonawanda, NY/Kenmore East) added four kills.

Elizabeth Wood led SUNY Poly by hitting .417 with six kills, while Sydney Johnson added 19 assists. Samantha Henry and Brittany Adams had seven digs apiece.

RIT is now 13-0 all-time against Bard and 4-0 versus SUNY Poly.

"Overall, we are happy with today's results and are looking forward to next week," said Lodes.

RIT returns home to take on local rival University of Rochester in a non-league match at 6 p.m. Tuesday evening from Clark Gym.