ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Vassar College women's volleyball team played its third consecutive five-set match on Friday night.  The Brewers (13-8, 4-2 Liberty) took a two sets-to-one lead before RIT (22-3, 5-1 Liberty) rallied to notch a 25-21, 21-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-9 victory at Clark Gym.  Despite the loss, Vassar clinched a place in the Liberty League Tournament.
 
Vassar currently sits third in the Liberty League standings, one win ahead of both Skidmore and Clarkson, with one match remaining.  However, since the Thoroughbreds and Golden Knights face each other on Saturday, the Brewers are guaranteed a spot in the conference tournament field for the third consecutive year.
 
RIT scored the first three points on Friday night and maintained that lead throughout the first set.  The Tigers eventually increased their advantage to 21-13 before the Brewers went on a 6-2 rally to pull within four, 23-19.  That's as close as Vassar would get, though, as the teams traded the next four points, and RIT took the set, 25-21.  Both offenses performed well in the frame, with the Tigers posting a .343 (16 kills, four errors, 35 attempts) hitting percentage and the Brewers hitting an even .300 (13-4-30).
 
It was the Brewers who took the early advantage in the second set.  Vassar jumped out to an 8-2 lead before RIT responded with a 10-4 run to tie it at 12-12.  After the Tigers pulled ahead 15-14, the Brewers rattled off four straight points to regain the lead.  RIT knotted the score again at 19-19, but Vassar countered with another 4-0 run to go up 23-20, and a Devan Gallagher (San Francisco, CA) kill finished off a 25-21 set win.
 
In the third set, RIT raced out to a 6-0 lead.  The Brewers gradually chipped away, however, pulling within 12-10 on a Lauren Ninkovich (Portland, OR) service ace.  After the Tigers pushed their lead back to four points at 15-11, a Sara Ehnstrom (Kaneohe, HI) kill sparked a 5-1 rally that brought Vassar even at 16-16.  A Gallagher kill gave the Brewers their first lead of the stanza at 19-18, and Annie MacMillan (Colorado Springs, CO) capped a set-ending 7-2 run with an ace. With the 25-20 set win, Vassar took a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
There were 12 ties and four lead changes in a back-and-forth fourth set.  Vassar went up 5-3 before RIT responded with three straight points to go ahead 6-5.  After the Tigers built a four-point cushion at 16-12, the Brewers countered with a 5-1 spurt that evened the score at 17-17.  It was knotted at 20-20 when RIT's Taylor Higgins smacked a kill to spark a 5-1 rally that gave her team the set, 25-21, and forced a decisive frame.
 
After the Tigers opened up a 5-1 lead in the fifth set, the Brewers rallied back, pulling within two at 7-5 on a Jorden Schreeder (Saratoga, CA) ace.  RIT scored three of the next four points to make it 10-6, but Vassar again rallied back, trimming its deficit to 11-8 on Ninkovich's ace.  The Tigers responded with three straight points, however, and RIT took the set by a 15-9 margin to seal a 3-2 win.  RIT hit .471 in the final set, slamming 10 kills while making just two errors in 17 attempts.
 
Gallagher notched her sixth straight double-double (and 15th of the season) with 25 kills and 14 digs.  She also hit .299 in the match and served a pair of aces.  Jane McLeod (New York, NY) finished with 20 kills on .311 hitting, while Ehnstrom contributed 10 kills.  MacMillan recorded a double-double of her own with 50 assists and 10 digs to go along with three blocks.  Anna Zucchero (Newton, MA) had a team-high 15 digs, and Lena Stevens (Aiea, HI) added 10 digs for the Brewers.  As a team, Vassar hit .253 (62-18-174).
 
For the Tigers, Katie Hobler tallied a match-high 26 kills on .386 hitting.  Higgins had a double-double with 15 kills and 21 digs, while Erin Parkinson finished with 49 assists, 12 digs and four blocks.  Kelly Waters, meanwhile, posted 12 kills and four blocks.  Maria Simonetti returned 16 digs and Paige Daly added 10 digs, as RIT held a 77-66 advantage in that category.  The Tigers hit .265 (62-19-162) as a team and outblocked the Brewers 10-5.
 
On Saturday, the Brewers conclude conference play by visiting No. 19 Ithaca (17-5, 6-0 Liberty) at 2 p.m.