ROCHESTER, NY – The Buffalo State women's volleyball team earned their first win of the season as they defeated the RIT Tigers in a five-set thriller to open the RIT Invitational in Clark Gymnasium.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 3, RIT – 2
SET SCORES: 25-19, 25-13, 22-25, 22-25, 18-16)
LOCATION: Clark Gymnasium – Rochester, NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State: 1-3 (0-0 SUNYAC), RIT: 3-2 (0-0 Liberty League)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Ella Wittman (Cheektowaga, NY/Springville Griffith) paced the Bengals offense with 15 kills and seven service aces.
- Samantha Coakley (Lockport, NY/Lockport) chipped in eight kills and a team high 13 digs.
- Karlie Shaffer (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown East) led the Bengals with 21 assists while April Jakubowski (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) added 17 of her own.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After the Bengals jumped out to a quick 4-2 start, RIT clawed back into the action to even the score 10-10.
- Buffalo State then took of eight of nine points to take control and eventually win the opening set.
- The Bengals carried the momentum into the second set as they dominated the Tigers. With the set tied 8-8, Buffalo State went on a rapid 17-5 swing capped off by a service ace from Jakubowski.
- RIT found their rhythm in the third set scoring the final five points overall to stay alive.
- In the fourth set, the Tigers jumped out to a quick 11-3 lead. The Bengals fought back to eventually even the score at 18-18, however, RIT scored six of seven before getting the final kill to force the decisive fifth set.
- The Bengals jumped out front early, but the Tigers came back into the action.
- Needing to win by two, the Tigers took a 15-14 lead, but the Bengals got a pair of kills from Kate Rutigliano (Martinsville, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) to lead the team towards taking the final set and the win.
FOR THE FOES
- Samantha Cox led the Tigers with 15 kills.
- Sydney Neff had 24 digs and 38 assists in the effort.
UP NEXT
The Bengals are back in action tomorrow as they battle Hamilton and Brockport at 1:30 pm and 4:00 pm, respectively to close out the tournament.