ROCHESTER, NY -- The RIT (17-10) women's volleyball team lost 3-1 to New York University (22-16) Friday evening on the first day of competition at the New York State Challenge from Clark Gymnasium. Scores were 21-25, 25-23, 20-25, 30-32.

Taylor Higgins (Peru, NY/Peru) and Katie Hobler (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) each had 20 kills for RIT, while Higgins finished with 15 digs. Sasha Mekker (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) handed out a career-high 52 assists, while Kiana Walker (Lloydminster, Alberta/Lloydminster Comprehensive) had 17 digs. Kelly Waters (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) added six kills and two blocks. Maria Simonetti (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) finished with 15 digs, giving her 1,012 career digs. Higgins surpassed the 1,000-kill mark for her career Friday, giving her 1,014.

Maddie DeJong led NYU with 18 kills, while Abby Ausmus added 16 kills and Nicole Dao finished with 39 assists. Jacqueline Kupeli had 16 digs, while Lauren Robinson had 11 digs.

"We played a pretty solid match most of the time against a really good NYU team," said RIT head coach Jim Lodes. "With a couple of set points in set 4, we almost pushed this to a fifth set. We continue to compete at a high level. This was a great match to prepare us for both tomorrow and Liberty League Championships next weekend."

RIT returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 2 against Montclair State at 11 a.m. in Clark Gym on day two of the New York State Challenge.