Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Ithaca College volleyball team (13-19, 4-3 Empire 8) secured the four seed in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament with a 1-1 Saturday at Nazareth. The Bombers blanked Alfred (3-23, 0-6 empire 8) 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-11), before dropping a 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-23) decision to Elmira (21-11, 4-3 Empire 8).

The Bombers, who have won five of their last eight, will face top-seeded host Stevens Institute of Technology in the Empire 8 semifinals.

Freshman Shaelynn Schmidt posted 12 kills and hit .304 to lead the Bombers offensively against the Saxons. Classmate Molly Brown dished out 13 assists and sophomore Carly Garone chipped in 11. Rookie Myan Idziur served up four aces. Three others had a pair apiece.

Garone dug six balls. Brown and freshman Grace Chang dug out five each. Siobhan Sorensen blocked three balls (2 solo, 1 assist).

The Saxons powered to a 5-2 lead in the first, a lead that they improved upon for a 12-6 gap to force Ithaca to burn an early timeout. A Syline Kim kill tipped off a 10-1 Ithaca run good for a 16-13 Bomber gap. Ithaca led the rest of the way to claim a 25-17 first-set victory. Alfred again took an early lead in the second stint, 5-1. Ithaca again called an early timeout. Idziur's serve evened the score at 5, the first of five ties. The Bombers snapped an 11-11 stalemate with six of the next eight and an indefinite advantage. The Saxons snuck within 24-23, but Schmidt registered a kill on a Brown set to secure a 2-0 series lead for the Blue & Gold. Ithaca shattered a 5-5 third-frame deadlock with an 11-2 streak en route to a 25-11 win.

In the day's second match, Chang and Schmidt each tallied six kills to lead Ithaca. Brown set for 14 assists. Idziur dug the ball 13 times and sophomore Dylan Gawinski Stern did so 10 times. Junior Rylie Bean posted four blocks.

The first set against the Soaring Eagles was knotted seven times, lastly at 13-13. Elmira used a 7-1 stretch to power ahead and close out the first, 25-17. The second and third ended in Elmira's favor, 25-23. Both were tied and bounced back-and-forth throughout. Deadlocked at 21-all in the second, the Soaring Eagles outlasted Ithaca with a 4-2 run good for a 2-0 advantage. With the third at a 23-23 standstill, the Soaring Eagles used a kill and an ace to secure the third seed in the postseason tournament.

Ithaca will host Wells on Tuesday, Oct. 29 for senior night at 6 p.m. in Ben Light Gymnasium.