WASHINGTON, DC – The RIT volleyball team (11-6) won a pair of matches Friday evening at the Worthington Classic hosted by Gallaudet University on Friday evening. The Tigers opened play with a four-set win over Montclair State University (7-6) and knocked off Nichols College (2-14) in three sets.
 
In the opener against Montclair St., RIT won the first two sets by scores of 25-17 and 25-21 before Montclair took set three, 25-14. RIT closed out the match with a 25-19 win in set four.
 
The Tigers slammed 52 kills to 32 for Montclair St. Joelle Marston (Roxbury, NJ/Roxbury) led all players with 17 kills, while Taylor Higgins (Peru, NY/Peru) added 13 kills and six digs. Shelby Doheny (Moreau, NY/South Glens Falls) hit .333 with seven kills and two blocks, while Erin Parkinson (Carrollton, TX/W.T. White) dished out 44 assists, added 10 digs and led the squad with three blocks. Rebecca Bennett (Springfield, PA/Springfield) had 16 digs, while Paige Daly (Allison Park, PA/Hampton) added four service aces.
 
Lily Scanzillo led Montclair St. with 23 digs, while Ashly Griffith dished out 29 assists. Natalia Majkut led the way with eight kills and six assisted blocks.
 
"This was a good opening match to the tournament," said RIT head coach Jim Lodes. "We found ways to respond positively to the changes that Montclair made and play accordingly."
 
RIT hit a robust .524 in the opening set 25-9 win over Nichols and hung on in sets two and three, winning by identical 25-23 scores to sweep the match. RIT had 36 kills to just 19 for Nichols.
 
Higgins led the Tigers with 11 kills and eight digs, while Kathryn Vogl (West Seneca, NY/St. Mary's) slammed a career-high eight kills. Kirstie Wehler (Saint Marys, PA/Elk County Catholic) hit .357 with five kills and six digs, while Kelly Fellner (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) had four kills in five attempts. Maria Simonetti (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) had a team-high three service aces to go along with six digs. Brianna Ellis (Wayne, PA/Radnor) dished out 19 assists, while Parkinson added 13.
 
J'Ena Baker led Nichols with 10 kills, while Jayla Simmons added 13 digs. Hayley Pichard had 16 assists and three service aces.
 
"It was nice to get the two wins today," said Lodes. "We look forward to tomorrow's matches."
 
RIT is now 2-2 all-time against Montclair State. Tonight's match against Nichols was the first between the two schools.

RIT returns to action on Saturday at the Worthington Classic, taking on DeSales University at 10 a.m. and Kean University at 2 p.m.