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Athletes of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) celebrate a point during their volleyball match against Penn State Behrend on Sept 15, 2018 in Clarke Gymnasium on the RIT campus in Henrietta, NY. Penn State Behrend fell to RIT with a set score of 3-0. (Coburn Swem/Sports Zone)
Coburn Swem
3
Winner RIT RIT 9-2
1
Clarkson University CU-VB 7-5
Winner
RIT RIT
9-2
3
Final
1
Clarkson University CU-VB
7-5
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
RIT RIT 22 25 32 25 (3)
Clarkson University CU-VB 25 17 30 21 (1)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Joe Venniro - Executive Director of Athletic Communications

Volleyball rallies to open Liberty League play with four-set win at Clarkson

Tigers extend winning streak to seven matches and defeat Clarkson for the first time since 2007.

POTSDAM, NY – The RIT volleyball team (9-2, 1-0 Liberty League) extended its winning streak to seven matches, earning a hard-fought four-set win over Clarkson University (7-5, 0-1 Liberty League) in the Liberty League opener for both schools Friday evening.
 
RIT defeated the Golden Knights, the six-time defending Liberty League Champions, for the first time since Oct. 27, 2007. Clarkson won the first set, 25-22, before RIT responded by taking the next three sets, 25-17, 32-30, 25-21.
 
The opening set was a back-and-forth affair in which included eight lead changes and 13 ties. With the set even at 22-22, Clarkson scored the final three points to win 25-22. RIT would jump out to a 22-10 lead in set two and never look back, going on to a resounding 25-17 victory to even the match.
 
Clarkson jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the third set before RIT went on a 7-0 run to lead 9-7. From there, both teams held leads before RIT took a 23-21 lead. Clarkson would respond with three straight points to lead 24-23. RIT would even the match at 24-24 before both teams traded the next 12 points, with the Tigers on the brink of falling seven times. RIT trailed 30-29 before Clarkson recorded back-to-back hitting errors. With RIT's first chance at set point, Erin Parkinson (Carrollton, TX/W.T. White) would fire a perfectly placed served off a Clarkson defender for the ace, giving RIT the hard-fought 32-30 win in set three.  
 
RIT lead throughout the fourth set before Clarkson tied the match at 15-15. The Tigers would take control by recording straight points, including back-to-back aces from Parkinson and a kill from Kelly Waters (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake). Clarkson would try to mount a late rally, cutting the lead to 23-21, but the Tigers would prove to be resilient and win the set, 25-21 to close out the match.
 
"The team showed great composure and worked hard to get a tough Liberty League road win," said RIT head coach Jim Lodes. "We will need to continue to build from this, but it was a really good effort."
 
The Tigers recorded 60 kills to 43 from Clarkson and had 11 service aces, while hitting .190. Clarkson's 11 blocks kept them in the match.
 
Senior setter Erin Parkinson (Carrollton, TX/W.T. White) was a force offensively, dishing out a four-set career-high 52 assists and adding three service aces, while recording 15 digs defensively. Freshman Katie Hobler (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) had 20 digs, 17 kills and four service aces. Taylor Higgins (Peru, NY/Peru) added 14 kills and 11 digs, while Shelby Doheny (Moreau, NY/South Glens Falls) hit .333 with 10 kills and Kelly Waters (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) added nine kills.
 
Defensively, junior libero Maria Simonetti (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) recorded a career-high 24 digs and added a pair of service aces.
 
Kate Isaksen led all players with 27 digs, while Rachel Reusch had a team-best 13 kills and seven blocks for the Golden Knights. Haley Aud and Amanda Collins combined for 33 assists.
 
RIT is right back in action on at 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon as Liberty League foe St. Lawrence (8-4, 0-1 Liberty League) visits Clark Gym.