Women's Volleyball | 12/21/2018 9:00:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT volleyball team enjoyed a season to remember in 2018. The Tigers won 29 games and emerged victorious in the Liberty League Championship for the first time since joining in 2011. RIT advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for the first time since 2007 and won its first NCAA Tournament game since 1999.
 
RIT opened the season by going 2-2 at the season-opening University of Scranton Invitational. The Tigers would not taste defeat for the next five weeks, winning 15 straight contests, which happened to be RIT's longest winning streak in 26 years. RIT went 6-1 in Liberty League play to earn the No. 2 seed in the championship tournament at Ithaca.
 
The Tigers entered the Liberty League Tournament riding a five-game winning streak, but faced off against Vassar College in the semifinals. Down 14-12 in the decisive fifth set, RIT rallied back to tie the match. The Tigers would face two more match points later, before rallying to win and advance to the finals. RIT would defeat Clarkson in four sets to claim its first Liberty League Championship and move on to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years.
 
Back at Ithaca for the second time in a week, RIT, the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Regional Championship, rolled to a convincing three-set win over Nazareth College before having its dream season stopped by Carnegie Mellon University in a five-set thriller.
 
Head Coach Jim Lodes, who was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) New York Region Coach of the Year and Liberty League Coach of the Year, led RIT to a 15-win improvement from 2017. RIT's .853 winning percentage was the second best in program history and tied for 13th in Division III.
 
Freshman Katie Hobler (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) earned AVCA Division III Third Team All-America honors in 2018. She became the seventh All-American in program history and second to earn the honor as a freshman. Hobler was named the Liberty League and AVCA New York Region Rookie of the Year and earned All-Liberty League first team and All-New York Region honors. The 2018 Liberty League Championship Most Outstanding Player, Hobler recorded team-high totals of 530 kills and 50 service aces, while hitting .329 this season with 599 total points (5.00/set) in 2018. Her 530 kills are third in Division III and 4.42 kills per set are seventh nationally. She is also seventh nationally in points per set.
 
Hobler finished the season having recorded at least 10 kills in 22 consecutive matches. She recorded at least 10 kills in a match 27 times and surpassed 20 kills on 11 different occasions. On Oct. 12, she slammed a career-best 32 kills in a win over Nazareth. In addition, Hobler hit over .500 in four different matches and recorded nine double-doubles.
 
Hobler was a seven-time Liberty League weekly honoree in 2018, was named Most Outstanding Player of the RIT Invitational and New York State Regional Challenge and earned All-Tournament Team honors at the University of Scranton Invitational and NCAA Regional Tournament at Ithaca.
 
Senior setter Erin Parkinson (Carrollton, TX/W.T. White) enjoyed a tremendous senior season for the Tigers in 2018, earning American Volleyball Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-America honors. She was an AVCA All-New York Region selection and garnered All-Liberty League second team accolades. Parkinson also was named to the Google Cloud Division III Region III All-Academic Team selected by CoSIDA
 
Parkinson dished out a career-high 1,334 assists, fourth most in Division III. Her 10.76 assists per set led the Liberty League and was 13th nationally. Parkinson recorded 19 matches with at least 40 assists and six contests with at least 50 assists. She added 261 digs, 43 blocks and 43 service aces. Parkinson finished her career third all-time at RIT with 4,790 assists to go along with 1,108 digs, 164 service aces and 136 blocks. She was Division III's all-time active leader in career assists throughout the 2018 season.
 
Sophomore Taylor Higgins (Peru, NY/Peru) earned All-Liberty League second team honors for the second consecutive season. She finished second on the team with 358 kills and recorded a team-best 354 digs to go along with 48 service aces in 2018. She had 20 matches with at least 10 kills and 13 double-doubles.
 
Senior captain Sara Taylor (Tonawanda, NY/Kenmore East) was a strong contributor on the outside, slamming 223 kills to go along with 110 digs and 43 blocks. She had at least 10 kills in a match six times and finished her RIT career with 772 kills.
 
RIT enjoyed great productivity in the middle, as juniors Kelly Waters (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) and captain Shelby Doheny (Moreau, NY/South Glens Falls), along with sophomore Kelly Fellner (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) formed a strong triumvirate. Waters, who spent her first two seasons at The College at Brockport, stepped right in and was among the national leaders with a .341 hitting percentage. Waters added 215 kills and 64 blocks (team-best 0.65 blocks per set). Doheny hit .299 with 181 blocks and a team-leading total of 67 blocks. Fellner was eased into the lineup after a season ending injury in 2017 and made key contributions down the stretch for RIT.
 
Defensively, the duo of junior Maria Simonetti (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) and sophomore Paige Daly (Allison Park, PA/Hampton) combined for 665 digs. Simonetti was tenth in the Liberty League with 3.57 digs per set and had at least 10 digs in a match 21 times. Daly tallied double figures in digs 17 times and was tied for second on the team with 48 service aces.
 
Junior captain Kirstie Wehler (Saint Marys, PA/Elk County Catholic) and sophomore Kathryn Vogl (West Seneca, NY/St. Mary's) played key roles off the bench. Vogl was among the team leaders with 44 service aces
 
Sophomores Hannah Sarakin (Woodcliff Lake, NJ/Pascack Hills) and Brianna Ellis (Wayne, PA/Radnor), along with freshmen Kiana Walker (Lloydminster, Alberta/Lloydminster Comprehensive), Calista Gasper (Sarver, PA/Freeport) and Caroline Brodt (Barnstable, MA/Barnstable) added solid depth throughout the season.
 
RIT excelled in the classroom as well, earning an AVCA Team Academic Award in 2018, while 10 standouts were named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team.
 
The Tigers lose Parkinson, Taylor and Wehler to graduation, but will return a strong nucleus ready to defend their league title in 2019.