ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher women's volleyball team traveled across town to Rochester Institute of Technology for the 31^st Annual RIT Invitational Friday at the Tigers' Clark Gym as the Cardinals came away with back-to-back straight set wins over both SUNY Poly (25-13, 25-16, 25-14) and RIT (25-21, 25-15, 25-12). Alea Steigerwald led all players in kills for both matches with 12 in the win over the Wildcats and 18 in the victory against the Tigers. With the sweeps, Fisher's record improved to 2-4 overall.

FISHER 3, SUNY POLY 0
The Cardinals started their evening off with their duel versus SUNY Poly. The margin between the two teams remained close until Fisher rallied for four straight points to make it 13-8. After the Wildcats responded with back-to-back points, the Cardinals topped it with a six-point run to take a 19-10 lead en route to a convincing 12-point win in the opening frame.

The back-and-forth runs would continue into the second with Fisher scoring its first 12 points of the set on four separate three-point rallies. Tied at 16, the Cardinals went on a nine-point burst to claim the second and hold a 2-0 edge. 

In the third and final set, Fisher found itself trailing 6-5 before the Cardinals put on an onslaught of six straight points to reclaim the momentum. The Wildcats were able to slow the Cardinals temporarily, but Fisher came back firing with 10 unanswered points to all but seal the match. A kill from Bernadette Nichols closed it out to give the Cardinals their first win of the season.

Fisher finished with a season-high .328 hitting percentage for a match that included an impressive .500 hitting percentage in the opening frame. Katie Leaty led the way in assists with 10 helpers.

FISHER 3, RIT 0
In the match against the Tigers, Fisher played much of the first set from behind. Back-to-back aces by Alexis Mancha cut the lead to one with the score reading 19-18 in favor of the home team. RIT then called a timeout, but the Cardinals kept their composure by tying it at 20 aside.  From there, head coach

Kelly Greapentrog's team gained its first lead of the match courtesy of misplays by the Tigers as the Cardinals came out on top.
In the second set, RIT and Fisher went back-and-forth with the scoreboard deadlocked at 5-5 when Steigerwald put the Cardinals on top for the first time in the second. Fisher extended it to a three-point lead and would never look back for the rest of the set. Steigerwald shined with seven kills in the set, including one that made it 24-13. Lindsey DeBonis scored the clinching point to put Fisher up two sets to none.

The Cardinals gained control of the third with a five-point swing to put them on top 13-8. Later in the set, Steigerwald took over again with a kill and then two service aces that were part of a four-point run by Fisher that put the visitors in the driver's seat. A service error gave the Cardinals match point and Lauren Gilbert put it home to come away with an undefeated night

Fisher had another impressive match offensively as it achieved a .476 hitting percentage in the second set and .259 overall. Steigerwald hit .417 for the match that included a season-low three errors. Hay had a game-high 29 assists while Gilbert, the reigning Empire 8 Rookie of the Week, earned a team-high nine digs.

Fisher will remain in the Rochester area as it heads to another cross-town rival in the University of Rochester on Saturday for the Yellowjackets' Invitational. The Cardinals square off with the Bengals of Buffalo State at 11 a.m. and then face Rochester at 3 p.m.