ITHACA, NY – The No. 2 seed RIT volleyball team (29-5) had its magical 2018 season come to an end, falling to No. 3 seed Carnegie Mellon University (24-10) in a five-set thriller in the NCAA Regional Semifinal (second round) from Ithaca College Saturday afternoon.
 
The Tartans won the first set, 25-16, before RIT won the next two sets, 25-22 and 25-23. Carngie Mellon would force the decisive fifth set by winning set four, 25-16. RIT would suffer its first loss in a fifth set all season, as the Tartans advanced by winning 15-12.
 
Carnegie Mellon rolled in the first set behind a .393 hitting percentage to earn a 25-16. Set two was back-and-forth affair, with RIT going on a 7-2 run to end it with a 25-22 victory after trailing 20-18. RIT led for most of third set before Carnegie Mellon rallied to tie it 22-22. Higgins slammed back-to-back kills to end the set for the Tigers, as they earned a 25-23 win.
 
Carnegie Mellon took control from the outset in the fourth set to win, 25-16. In set five, the Tartans jumped out to leads of 7-3 and 9-5 before RIT went on a 4-1 run to pull within one, 10-9 on a kill by Kelly Waters (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake). Carnegie Mellon would score the next two points and hang on for the 15-12 set win and advance to the NCAA Regional Championship.
 
Carnegie Mellon had 81 points to 76 for RIT. In addition, the Tartans out-hit RIT, .315 to .213. Both teams slammed 64 kills, but RIT committed 26 attack errors to just 13 from Carnegie Mellon.
 
Four different Tigers had at least 10 kills. Katie Hobler (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) slammed a team-best 18 kills to go along with 14 digs and three aces. Waters hit .342 with 16 kills and two blocks, while Taylor Higgins (Peru, NY/Peru) added 13 kills and 12 digs. Shelby Doheny (Moreau, NY/South Glens Falls) chipped in with 10 kills.
 
Senior setter Erin Parkinson (Carrollton, TX/W.T. White) dished out 54 assists and added four kills. She also moved into sole possession of third place in career assists at the university with 4,790. She is the NCAA's active leader in career assists.
 
Paige Daly (Allison Park, PA/Hampton) and Maria Simonetti (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) led the way defensively for RIT with 17 digs apiece.
 
"I'm so very proud of the development of this group," said RIT head coach Jim Lodes. "They truly embraced the team concept and placed team needs first. Having the talent to achieve is one thing, but having the work ethic and team first mentality allows a group to mature into a special team. I feel that we have become that type of team."
 
Sarah Jurgens led all players with 23 kills, while hitting .452, while Lauren Mueller added 16 kills. Setter Maia So-Holloway dished out 52 assists and had 13 digs, while Kayla Yew added 25 digs.
 
Yesterday, RIT knocked off Nazareth College in three sets in the opening round to win its first NCAA Championship Tournament match in 19 years. Hobler slammed 23 kills, while the Tigers hit .402 as a team.
 
Carnegie Mellon now leads the all-time series between the two schools, 3-0. The Tartans won the last meeting before today in 2016.
 
RIT finishes the season with a tremendous 29-5 mark and an .853 winning percentage, which is the second best in program history. Today marked the final matches for seniors Parkinson, Sara Taylor (Tonawanda, NY/Kenmore East) and Kirstie Wehler (Saint Marys, PA/Elk County Catholic).