Wellesley Box Score | Endicott Box Score

Wellesley, Mass. -- The Ithaca (14-11) volleyball team fell in five sets to host Wellesley (13-5), 3-2 (23-25, 25-15, 25-15, 22-25, 15-9), on Saturday morning at the Wellesley Invitational before defeating Endicott. The Bombers dropped their first set to the Gulls before taking three straight to split on the second day of the tournament. Ithaca defeated Endicott (16-12), 3-1 (18-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-21).

In the day's first match the Bombers, who are now 2-2 in five-set matches, won the first and fourth sets to push the action to five, but fell behind in the fifth, 12-5, and was not able to recover.

Tied on eight occasions, the Bombers used a 4-0 run to lead 13-9 in the first set. Ithaca maintained the steady four-point advantage before the Blue pulled within one point at 20-19 and again at 21-20. Ithaca went on to outscore Wellesley 4-3, to take a 1-0 series lead.

Off to a slow start, the Bombers trailed host Wellesley, 7-1, before surging to bring the second set within two, 9-7. The Blue responded with four unanswered and went on to upend the Bombers, 25-15, knotting the series at 1-1.

Similar to the previous game, set three opened with Wellesley commanding the action. The Blue led 4-1 before Ithaca came within one, 5-4, but the Bombers fell short of piecing together a comeback. Wellesley secured a 13-6 cushion and edged the Bombers 12-9 down the stretch for its second consecutive 25-15 set victory.

The Bombers rebounded from a pair of dropped sets by never trailing in the fourth. Ithaca jumped out to a 10-3 lead before the Blue brought the match within three, 13-10. Ithaca took a five-point lead, 15-10, but Wellesley capitalized on Ithaca errors to bring the set within one point, twice. Ithaca held strong and put away a block assist on behalf of junior Kate Thoene (Voorhees/High Bridge, N.J.) and junior Karin Edsall (Cornwall Central/Cornwall) to capture the set, 25-22.

A fifth-set struggle ultimately led the Blue to victory as Ithaca could not keep consistent. After three unanswered Wellesley points to open the final stanza, Ithaca was able to bring the set to, 6-5, before allowing six consecutive that instated a 12-5 gap. Ithaca tallied a pair to narrow the distance to six, but the Blue notched its match point with two-straight of their own and secured the match with a 15-9 fifth-set final.

For the second-straight match, junior Chelsea Hayes (Northern Valley Regional/Haworth, N.J.) led the Bombers in kills with 14, while junior Jessica Hoeffner (Hauppauge/ Hauppauge) added 11. Sophomore Marissa Woodcome (Pittsford-Sutherland/Pittsford) and freshman Sydney Folk (Long Beach/Long Beach) split setting duties to gather 17 and 14 assists, respectively, while Thoene recorded a match-high five blocks (three solo, two assists).

Hayes fell one shy of her dig career high with 19 to lead the Bombers. Woodcome and senior Taylor Horton (Lakeridge/Lake Oswego, Ore.) also reached double-digits with 14 each.

In the second match of the day, Ithaca dropped the first set 25-18. After a 9-9 stalemate, Endicott secured an 11-3 run that helped propel the Gulls to a first-set victory.

The second set was knotted on 16 occasions, the final time at 22-22. An Endicott service error gave the Bombers' a 23-22 edge and an Edsall kill brought the series to 1-1 with a 25-22 victory.

Five aces helped the Bombers to a third-set win as Ithaca gained control following a 4-4 deadlock. The Bombers trailed just once, at 4-3, before taking the set, 25-18.

The final set of the day ended in Ithaca's favor, 25-21. After a 4-4 tie, Ithaca went on to lead 14-7 but the Gulls brought the match back within three, 15-12. The Bombers kept ahead of the competition as Ithaca regained a seven-point advantage for a 21-14 lead. Not to be outdone, Endicott brought the match within two, 22-20, before a 3-1 run sealed the game for the Bombers.

Hoeffner starred in the day's second match tallying career highs of 17 kills and three aces with a solid hitting percentage of .359. Hayes also reached double-digits with 10 kills. Folk and Woodcome again shared setting duties with 22 and 16 assists, respectively.

Horton led all dig efforts with 23, while supported by Hayes with 16, senior Tina Orlandini (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy/Altadena, Calif.) 15, and Folk 13.

Edsall recorded six blocks (one solo, five assists) and Thoene added three to move into ninth-place all-time in Ithaca's record books with 290 career blocks.

Ithaca will next host Oneonta on Tuesday, Oct. 19 for senior night in Ben Light Gymnasium at 7 p.m.