The University of Rochester and Grove City College opened their weekend of action at the RIT Invitational, dueling each other in a 5-set match on Friday night at St. John Fisher University, with Rochester emerging with a 3-2 victory.
 
The win, Rochester's sixth in a row, moves the Yellowjackets to 6-1 on the young season. Grove City was handed its second loss of the year, snapping an 8-match win streak, dropping to 10-2 overall.
 
Rochester was well rounded statistically in the win. Overall, the Yellowjackets smacked 52 kills, had 16 aces, recorded 7 blocks and scooped up 85 digs as a team.
 
Individually, Alexia Nelms was terrific in her setters role, recording 5 kills in 7 attacks (.714 percentage), 32 assists, 3 blocks and 3 digs. First-year libero Lydia Weeks was one of four UR players in double-digit digs, grabbing 20 along the back line.
 
Both Ashley Cook and Ruby Moore recorded double-doubles, with Cook providing 11 kills and 17 digs, while Moore finished with 10 kills and 14 digs. Myla Nover-Estes added nine kills and 13 digs, while all three players combined for nine of UR's 16 aces.
 
Sonia McGaffigan chipped in eight kills and three blocks, while Megan Cahall and Paige Stephenson each had three kills.
 
A quick 6-0 spurt from the Wolverines led them to an early lead in set one. UR eventually got back even in the first at 15-all and 18-all, but Grove City closed the set with seven straight points to claim the set 25-18.
 
Rochester again fell behind early in the next set, trailing 4-0, but quickly rattled off four points of its own to tie the score. The Wolverines edged in front 17-12, but the Yellowjackets responded with an 8-1 run to surge ahead 20-18. Three kills from Cook fueled the Yellowjackets spurt, with Moore, Nover-Estes and Stephenson added kills.
 

Grove City pulled within one at 21-20, but UR scored the final four points to swipe set two by a 25-20 score. Cook was able to finish the set in style with back-to-back service aces.
 
Set three was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team providing much separation from the other. A kill from Stephenson put Rochester up 22-20 late in the set, but Grove City went on a 5-0 run to go up two sets to one in the match, winning the set 25-22.
 
Trailing 12-14 in the fourth, Rochester used a key 6-1 rush, with kills from Moore (two), Cook and McGaffigan to grab an 18-15 lead, looking to stay alive in the match. The teams traded the next ten points back-and-forth, pushing Rochester ahead 23-20, before a Nover-Estes kill and Grove City attack error allowed UR to take the set 25-20, forcing a deciding fifth set.
 
Rochester saved its best hitting set for last, combining for a .333 percentage (9 kills, 3 errors, 18 attacks) in the fifth, leading to a 15-8 win, swiping the overall match.
 
Three straight kills, two from McGaffigan and one from Moore put UR up 5-2. A 4-1 stretch boosted the lead to 10-5, with McGaffigan again providing a pair of points, one on a kill and another on an ace.
 
After Grove City pulled within four points, the Yellowjackets rattled off a huge four-point burst, to get within one point of the match. The Wolverines stayed alive with a kill and block, but Nover-Estes ended the contest with a kill off a feed from Nelms.