NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The Ithaca College volleyball team (5-7) battled 21st-ranked Salisbury (11-1) and blanked Old Westbury (1-4) on day two of the New Paltz Hawk Invitational. The Sea Gulls took the first match in straight sets, 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-20), but the Bombers answered with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-6, 25-11) victory over the Panthers. Freshman Shaelynn Schmidt was named to the All-Tournament Team.

In the first match, junior Rylie Bean put down 15 kills for the Bombers as sophomore Carly Garone and freshman Molly Brown set for 13 and 11 assists, respectively. Brown added a team-best three aces. Rookie Myan Idziur dug out 11 times and sophomore Dylan Gawinski Stern seven times. Junior Abbie Hutchinson posted three block assists.

Salisbury used an 8-3 run in the first set for an 18-11 advantage. The Bombers snuck within 22-20, but the Gulls posted three consecutive for the 1-0 lead. Ithaca answered with an early lead in the second stint, 9-4. Salisbury rewrote its deficit with a dominating 17-3 run en route to a 25-17 victory. Ithaca battled in the third. There were four ties, but the Gulls snapped a 9-9 deadlock with 11 of the next 14 points. The Bombers held Salisbury at match point as they put away four points on Idziur's serve, but an attack error finalized all play in the Sea Gulls' favor, 25-20.

Ithaca controlled play against the Panthers. Senior Justine Duryea posted 10 kills and rookie Breanne Tuohy added eight. Brown tallied 17 assists and Garone 14. The Bombers, who served up 17 aces, were led by freshman Grace Chang with four. Garone and Duryea each had three.

Ithaca took a 5-1 lead in the first, but Old Westbury responded to pull within 10-8. The Bombers held the Panthers to three additional points, meanwhile putting away 15 of their own. A 9-0 run to open the second frame helped Ithaca power to a 25-6 win. In the final set, the Panthers initially kept within striking distance, but Ithaca closed out the match with a 13-2 stretch for the win.

Ithaca opens Empire 8 action on Friday, Sept. 20 against Stevens Institute of Technology at Hartwick.