(Bronx, NY) On Thursday night, the Tigers went up against the Broncos at Bronx CC.  FIT got out to a great start, playing nearly mistake free.  The first was put away  quickly in dominating fashion, 25-10

In the second set, Bronx CC jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Tiger errors would keep  the score close leading by only 3 halfway  through the set, 11-8. Solid, consistent serves to goods spots by sophomores Jillian Stabler and Meghan Chilson helped FIT pull out to a comfortable lead and close out the set 25-15.

The third set, although finishing 25-19, was not as close as it seemed. "We got sloppy towards the end with our passing, limiting our setters' options. Our outsides were not able  to get involved the way we wanted and it hurt our momentum," said head coach Keith Heron.

Overall, it was a good win for the Tigers who hope to take a new learning experience from each match. The Tigers did not do a particularly good job of capitalizing on free balls and turning them into threatening scoring opportunities so they hope to make corrections in that area going forward.

Top Tiger performers of the day were Jillian Staebler who held serve for 25 attempts with 3 aces and no errors, added 3 kills and played solid defense in the back line with 9 digs. "We were impressed not only with the consistency of Jillian's serves, but also with how she stepped up with her defense and passing... a very solid performance tonight from Jillian," said head coach Keith Heron. Also impressive in the win were freshman Arpi Dayian with 21 assists and 8 digs, and fellow freshman Erin Dee  who recorded 11 kills. "Erin emerged as a serious scoring threat for us tonight. She brought our team bursts of energy with powerful kills when we needed a spark," said Heron

Next up for the Tigers, a huge double dual to take place on Saturday at Suffolk Community College versus regional rivals Nassau CC and Suffolk CC to start at 12 noon. "These are going to be two hard fought matches. We hope to establish ourselves as a force in the region by performing up to our potential on Saturday." - Keith Heron