It took five sets, but the St. John Fisher College volleyball team earned wins against the University of Rochester (25-21, 13-25, 25-18, 19-25, 15-10) and SUNY Fredonia (25-17, 22-25, 18-25, 25-18. 15-11) in the RIT Invitational, Friday at Clark Gymnasium.

With the wins, Fisher breaks the .500 mark, climbing to 6-5, while Rochester falls to 2-8.  SUNY Fredonia slips to 6-4 after the loss.

U of R BOX SCORE

In its opening game, Fisher overcame a slow start in the first set, falling behind 12-6, but the lead would not hold for the University of Rochester as the Cardinals rattled off six unanswered points to knot the set at 12-12.  The Yellow Jackets returned the favor, scoring five straight points, but it's not how you start, it's how you finish as the Cardinals once again put together a run, scoring 10 of the set's final 13 points to earn the win 25-21.

Both teams exchanged sets as the Yellow Jackets took the second 25-13, while Fisher bounced back in the third frame 25-18 to take a two sets to one advantage.

Facing defeat, the University of Rochester responded in the fourth set, opening up a 20-14 lead en route to a 25-19 win to forcing a fifth and deciding set.

With the score tied 9-9 in the final frame, The Cardinals went on the attack as Megan Miller served up an ace followed by a hard hit ball from Brooke Meader that put Fisher up for good as the Cardinals held on to win in five sets for the second consecutive game.

Miller had a team-high 12 kills to go along with 11 digs.  Rachael Kline chipped in with 11 kills while Erica Stickler had 20 assists.  Ali Mann tallied 12 assists and Lauren Rokjer notched eight kills.

SUNY FREDONIA BOX SCORE

In the nightcap, The Cardinals battled SUNY Fredonia to a fifth set for the third time in as many games.  The Cardinals opened the contest with a first set win (25-17), but found themselves in a hole after the Blue Devils took the next two sets (25-22, 25-18).
In the fourth set, the Cardinals pulled away, scoring nine of the set's final 11 points to keep their hopes alive.  As a team, Fisher played a strong fourth set, smashing 11 kills while committing only two errors.  Miller had four kills in the pivotal frame.

In the final set, Fredonia held a 9-8 edge, but as it had all day, the Cardinals stormed back to take the lead, the set (15-11) and the match.

 Kline clubbed 13 kills and registered five service aces, while Miller put down 11 kills to go along with 13 digs.  Stickler had a team-high 25 assists and Meader had nine kills.  The Cardinals tallied 81 kills in the match as Jessica Simonetti collected 16 and Erin Crandall had 14. 

Fisher will continue play at the RIT Invitational tomorrow at 11 a.m. against Keuka College followed by a 1 p.m. contest with the College of Brockport.