On Thursday it was Tiger Senior Night in the main gym for the last home game of the regular season.  On hand were the FIT Tiger Mascot Stitch, a DJ, the FIT Gospel Choir singing the national anthem, and the families of the seniors playing their last regular season home game as an FIT Tiger.  To begin the night, each senior was announced in front of the crowd and a few words were said about each senior:

Jillian Staebler - A transfer student, her first year playing for  FIT will also be her last. Jillian improved tremendously during this season.  Every time she made a great play this year, the coaches would feel proud and also a little bad as they remembered she wouldn't be  coming back next year.

Christina Wong - Always with her game face on, Christina is a fierce competitor. But behind the tough exterior, she really knew how to have a lot of fun, and she was an all around player excelling at both back line defense and hitting up front.

Meghan Chilson - The life of the FIT Volleyball party, Meghan was the team DJ on the bus for road trips. Every team needs a type of player like her to keep everyone having a good time and to fill others with team spirit. A lot of the positive team chemistry the team enjoyed was thanks to her.

Co-Captain Cassandra Burdick (Cassie) - Never afraid to be herself, Cassie was always good at keeping the mood fun. Others could always count on her for a smile or a laugh when the going got tough to help them stay calm and loose. She also helped new freshman adjust to the FIT volleyball system.

Hannah Edwards - Playing perhaps the toughest position on the court (libero) Hannah was an amazing defender. Having to stand in the line of fire of the other team's hard hit spikes, she deserves a lot of credit. A lot of her efforts went unnoticed as her plays weren't normally flashy or glamorous, but they were of vital importance to the team's success. A great kill starts with a great pass.... all of the hitters benefitted from her great passes in tough situations. She  will hard to replace.

Vanessa Bennish - FIT's most dangerous offensive weapon,  Vanessa was our silent assassin. She was very reserved but observant, soaking up as much information as possible.  She was also very responsible and dedicated throughout the season. A player so smart, coachable, dedicated and responsible will be hard to replace next year.

As luck would have it, the team had exactly 6 seniors, so each of them started the first match of the senior night double header against BMCC. Loosing to BMCC at their gym in the first game of the season, FIT wanted to return the favor on their home court for senior night, but were unable to deliver. BMCC won a closely contested first set, and then FIT won the next two sets fairly easily by scores of 25-17, 25-19. The 4th set went to BMCC and the 5th set was close, but went to BMCC 15-13 and they took a 3 set to 2 victory in a grueling 5-set, 2 hour battle.

Next up were the Caimans of Hostos CC. Worn out from the previous match, FIT dropped the first set to Hostos before responding and winning the second set. Both head coaches exchanged looks at that point as if they knew this match was also heading for 5 sets which it did. After trailing 8-5 in the 5th set at the switch, the Tigers had just enough left in the tank to mount a comeback and pull out victory in a tightly contested 5th set that was pushed all  the way to 16-14.

"We were exhausted but also very happy that our 5 hours of hard work had paid off with at least one win. Coming up empty after all that effort on senior night would have been unbearable. Now to recuperate, regroup and get ready for the last day of the regular season on Saturday," said head coach Keith Heron.