Box Score

ELMIRA, N.Y. – The third-seeded Ithaca College volleyball team (13-15) dropped a 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-21) Empire 8 semifinal match to second-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology (17-17) on Saturday afternoon at top-seeded Elmira. Senior Marissa Weil was named to the All-Tournament Team.

The Bombers were led by Weil with 15 kills. Freshman Carly Garone set for 21 assists and junior Justine Duryea served up four aces. Freshman Christine Flannery had 13 digs to lead Ithaca. Garone and freshman Dylan Gawinski Stern had nine digs each.

Ithaca got down early, 6-0, in the first and could not recover. The Ducks went on to take a 10-3 advantage before Ithaca cut within 13-8. Stevens used a 7-1 run for a 20-9 lead and powered to a 25-14 first-set victory.

In back-and-forth fashion, the second stint was knotted 12 times, lastly at 15-15. The Ducks powered to a 20-15 gap with five unanswered forcing Ithaca to expunge both of its timeouts. The Bombers cut their deficit to 22-20, but the Ducks recorded three consecutive to secure a 2-0 lead.

The final frame proved to be a competitive one down the stretch. The Ducks raced out to an early 7-4 lead and maintained the advantage until Ithaca knotted action at 17 with five unanswered. The Bombers took a 19-18 edge on a Stevens attack error, but the Ducks went on to tally three consecutive to claim the lead indefinitely and advance to see fourth-seeded Nazareth in the championship game at noon Sunday at Elmira.

Concluding their season, the Bombers snapped a three-year, 20-win season streak in 2012.