ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Skidmore College volleyball team shook off an early deficit, rallying to advance to the Liberty League tournament, thanks to a four-set victory (25-21, 25-14, 25-21, 23-12) over RIT in the league finale at Gordon Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.
The Thoroughbreds improves to 15-9 overall and 4-3 in league action, advancing to the league tournament as the fourth seed for the first time since the 2012 season. RIT falls to 13-15 overall and 2-5 in league action.
Skidmore received a balanced performance on offense in the victory.
Caite Canfield and
Bailey Hutchins each tallied 11 kills to lead the Thoroughbreds. Canfield also tallied 12 digs.
Katy Ehnstrom tallied 10 kills, hitting a team-leading .421 and adding six blocks.
Lauren Wolters paced the offense with 36 assists, while
Allie Dillon led the defense with 23 digs.
Taylor Higgins led RIT with 17 kills and 12 digs, while Sarah DelVecchio added 10 kills.
Skidmore fell into a 4-1 hole early in the battle between two teams looking to make the postseason. Consecutive RIT errors and a Canfield kill brought Skidmore to one, at 15-14, but the Tigers pulled away with a 7-1 run, eventually taking the first set.
The Thoroughbreds shook off the first set, taking advantage of RIT miscues and stellar offensive play by Dillon, Ehnstrom, and
Sophia Hettler to pull to a 16-9 lead. Skidmore never let up, scoring the last five points of a dominating 25-14 set win.
RIT tightened things up in the third, taking a 15-11 lead midway through. Skidmore would answer with a game-changing 5-0 run, taking the 16-15 lead. RIT would once again take a 21-20 lead, but once again, Skidmore closed the set on a solid 5-0 run.
Skidmore took that momentum into the fourth set, scoring five straight points to open things up. The Tigers went on one last run to reduce the deficit to 10-8, but the Thoroughbreds put the match away with backbreaking runs of 7-2 and 6-0.
The Thoroughbreds will wrap up the regular season, hosting the Skidmore Invitational next Friday and Saturday. Skidmore will take on Potsdam and UMass Boston on Friday, ending the weekend with Sage and New Paltz on Saturday.
