HOBOKEN, N.J. – For the first time since 2010, the Ithaca College volleyball program is the Empire 8 Conference champion. Ithaca swept host Stevens, 25-15, 25-19, 25-15, on Sunday in Hoboken, N.J. to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship. The Bombers are now 30-4 on the year, which ties the most victories for the program since 2007.

In 2010, Ithaca defeated Elmira in four sets for its first conference title.

The Bombers jumped out early in the first set to an 8-2 lead. Stevens fought back to a 9-5 difference, but Ithaca answered with four of the next five points to force the Ducks into a timeout with the score at 13-6. Out of the break, the Bombers increased their advantage to 18-8 before Stevens brought it back to 18-11. Ithaca then put the set away with a 7-4 run to win, 25-15.

Freshman Hailey Adler recorded three kills in the set, while sophomore Joelle Goldstein and freshmen Katie Evans and Amanda Cerruti all contributed two kills. Cerruti and sophomore Caroline Gerulskis each had three blocks in the set.

In the second set, the scored remained within two points until the Bombers went on a quick run to go ahead, 10-5. Ithaca's lead stayed between five or six points until a pair of errors on Stevens put the score at 19-11, which prompted the Ducks to call a timeout. The Bombers held onto that cushion and claimed the set, 25-19.

Ithaca came out aggressive once again in the third set on a 7-2 run. Stevens brought it back to 11-7, but the Bombers scored the next two points to go up by six, and the Ducks stopped play with a timeout. A short 3-1 run by Stevens made the score 14-10 and the Bombers called their own timeout to regroup. The Bombers stepped back out of the court and rolled to the sweep, outscoring Stevens, 11-5, the rest of the way for a 25-15 win.
 

Sophomore Kayla Gromen was named the tournament's most valuable player after dishing out 25 assists with two kills and seven digs. In the semifinal, Gromen registered 25 assists, three kills and eight digs.

Goldstein paced the offense with 11 kills on 20 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage to go along with nine digs and two service aces. Cerruti added six kills and five total blocks, while Evans chipped in five kills, three block assists and two aces.

Adler had six digs, four kills and an ace. Senior Dylan Gawinski-Stern contributed six digs, while sophomore Marlee Wierda added five digs.

Ithaca hit .188 in the match, compared to .031 for Stevens. The Bombers also recorded eight blocks to three for the Ducks, and held a 5-3 edge in aces.

The Bombers will find out whom, when and where they will play in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship on Monday, Nov. 9 at 11 a.m. The selection show can be viewed here. 

On Tuesday, the conference released its all-tournament team. Along with Gromen being named MVP at the championship, Goldstein and Cerruti were all-tournament honorees.

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