| 9/18/2004 4:38:22 PM

For RIT Statistics vs. Cortland, click here

For RIT statistics vs. Nazareth, click here

ROCHESTER, NY -- Play continued on Saturday in the RIT Volleyball Invitational. For host RIT it was an up and down day. In the Tigers early match they were defeated by Cortland State, 3-2. RIT took the first two games and looked to be on their way to the championship match, leading 31-30 in the third game. However, the Red Dragons were able to come back and win the game 33-31, and win games four and five to take the match.  For RIT, junior Christina Anabel (Apalachin, NY/Vestal) (Apalachin, NY/Vestal) led the way with 24 digs and 15 kills.  Sophomore Dani Fisher (Pittsburgh, PA/Plum) (Pittsburgh, PA/Plum) recorded 11 kills.  Junior Bonnie Harriman (Danbury, CT/Danbury) (Danbury, CT/Danbury) chipped in with seven kills.  Sarah Ballard (Lake View, NY/Frontier) (Lakeview, NY/Frontier) dished out 37 assists to go along with 22 digs.  Laura Grell (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) compiled 17 digs.

The Tigers rebounded with an impressive 3-1 win over Nazareth College in the third place match. RIT spotted the Golden Flyers the first game but stormed back to take the next three games. It was the first win over Nazareth for head coach Roger Worsley since he took over the program in 2001.  Ballard was tremendous for the Tigers, finishing with 40 assists and 13 digs.  Anabel was equally impressive, as she compiled 23 digs and 17 kills. Laurie Underhill (East Aurora, NY/Mt. Mercy Academy) (East Aurora, NY/Mt. Mercy Academy) recorded 10 kills and 10 digs.  Sophomore Michelle Skowzgird (Grayslake, IL/John Hersey) (Grayslake, IL/John Hersey) finishedwith nine kills and two blocks.

In the championship match New York University, the top-ranked team in Division III, defeated a tough SUNY Cortland squad, 3-2. NYU took the first two games of the match. SUNY Cortland responded by taking the next two games 30-23 and 30-26 respectively setting up a fifth and deciding game. NYU controlled the play in the deciding game, winning 15-8. New York University's Elena Drinka was named the tournament's ost valuable player.

2004 RIT Invitational All-Tournament Team
Colleen Kiser - St. John Fisher
Susan Johnson - University of Rochester
Tricia Jones - Nazareth College
Sarah Ballard (Lake View, NY/Frontier) - RIT
Jamie McMullen - SUNY Cortland
Katya Khmelnitskaya - NYU

MVP: Elena Drink - NYU

Saturday, September 18 - Results

Results
10:00 am              Cortland 3, RIT 2
                               (28-30, 30-32, 33-31, 30-16, 15-9)
                               Geneseo 3, Ithaca 1
                               (30-24, 20-30, 30-27, 30-22)
                               Vassar 3, Clarkson 1
                               (25-30, 30-20, 30-26, 31-29)

12:00 pm              NYU 3, Nazareth 0
                               (30-22, 30-22, 30-17)
                               Rochester 3, St. John Fisher 0
                               (30-17, 30-17, 30-27)
                               Brockport 3, Buffalo St. 0
                               (30-20, 30-20, 30-28)

2:00 p.m.              RIT 3, Nazareth 1 - 3rd Place Match
                               (27-30, 30-20, 30-21, 30-27)
                               Ithaca 3, St. John Fisher 0 - 7th Place Match
                               (30-23, 30-19, 30-25)
                               Clarkson 3, Buffalo State 0 - 11th Place Match
                               (30-25, 30-25, 30-24)

4:00 p.m.              NYU3, Cortland 2 - Championship Match
                               (30-28, 30-23, 23-30, 26-30, 15-8)
                               Rochester 3, Geneseo 0 - 5th Place Match
                               (30-23, 30-24, 30-25)
                               Vassar vs. Brockport - 11th Place Match