(Poughkeepsie, NY) On Saturday, the Tigers traveled to Dutchess CC for a double dual showdown vs upstate rivals Ulster CC and Dutchess CC

First up on the day for the Tigers was Division II Ulster CC. Although not a regional game counting towards playoff record for the Tigers, the seriousness of the match was not overlooked. Having been unable to win both matches of a double dual yet this season, the Tigers were hungry for a sweep today.  To accomplish the goal, they needed to start off with a win against Ulster. The Tigers knew that Ulster would be a formidable opponent as the two teams stacked up closely in many team stat categories coming into the match.

In the first set, FIT decided to make no substitutions, a strategy they had not yet tried this season. The starters rose to the occasion, winning the first set 25-16. The FIT starters handled various looks and combinations of Ulster personnel with poise. "I was proud to see us start and finish the set with the same group. It shows the versatility of our players to play both the front and back lines. As we approach the playoffs, we wanted to give our starters a test, and we were pleased with the results," said head coach Keith Heron.

In the  second set, FIT carried over their energy from the first set, and jumped out to a 13-4 lead. Ulster was forced to use a timeout, and after the break the next 6 points would go to Ulster ending the Tiger rally and swinging the momentum in favor of Ulster. From that point on it was back and forth for the rest of the set until knotted at 24 it became a race to score to two straight points. Despite having three opportunities at set point, FIT could not close the deal,  and Ulster edged out the Tigers, 28-26.

The third set was all FIT  25 - 15, but in the fourth set, Ulster made some lineup changes, made adjustments to their attack and started to dig more of the hard hit FIT spikes. Behind solid defense and smart ball placement on offense, Ulster jumped out to a 7-0 lead.  Despite a strong FIT comeback and keeping it close the rest of the way, FIT couldn't fully recover from spotting Ulster a 7 point lead to start the set and lost 21-25. Ulster had succeeded in forcing a deciding 5th set.

Going into the shortened 5th set, the Tigers placed an emphasis on coming out to a lead. After scoring the first 7 points of the crucial 5th set behind well placed serves by freshman co-captain Arpi Dayian, and some great play all around, it was all but over. The Tigers went on to win the set 15-5 and the match 3 sets to 2.

Anchoring the defensive charge was sophomore Hannah Edwards with 36 digs. Sophomore Christina Wong teamed up with Hannah to provide very solid passes throughout the long and tiresome match.

Offensively, sophomore Vanessa Bennish led the way with 16 kills, while Christina Wong impressed with her play at the net adding 7 kills of her own. Filling up the stat sheets was freshman co-captain Arpi Dayian who contributed  17 assists, 13 digs, 4 aces,  3 kills and a solo block.

"By the 5th set, both teams really have a good feel for each other, and usually the better team prevails. The fact that we played such a dominant 5th set against a worthy opponent who got increasingly tougher as the match progressed says a lot about our team. I was proud of the team effort to get this win. Everybody contributed to it. It is nice to know that we have so many scoring threats  going forward. That is going to keep our opponents off guard because our attack will be unpredictable," said Coach Keith Heron.

For the second match of the double dual, the Tigers went up against Dutchess Community College and continued their aggressive play. Sophomores Vanessa Bennish, Christina Wong and freshman Erin Dee all attacked from the outside position with force, overpowering Dutchess' defense. Keeping the positive energy flowing from the previous win eaelier in the day,  Dutchess provided little resistance for the FIT Tiger squad who won easily in 3 sets by the scores of 25-16, 25-15 and 25-11

Top Tigers of the day were:
Freshman co-captain Arpi Dayian with 31 assists, 9 aces, 24 digs, 4 kills and 2 solo blocks
Sophomore Vanessa Bennish with 20 kills and 16 digs
Freshman Erin Dee with 13 kills and 3 aces 
Sophomore Jillian Staebler with 9 aces out of 34 service attempts

Next up for the Tigers, our first home match of the season this Thursday 10/13 at 7pm vs Bronx CC. Come to the gym and support your FIT Volleyball Team! 
Go Tigers!