WELLESLEY, Mass. – The Ithaca College volleyball team had a quick turnaround as it hit the court for its earliest doubleheader of the season in the second day of the 2016 Wellesley Invitational. The Bombers opened the day with a hard-fought comeback victory in a match that went the distance against Wesleyan University. IC followed that with its second three-set sweep of the weekend against Endicott. The pair of victories ensured Ithaca was the tournament champion as the only undefeated team.
 
"I'm just so proud of our resolve and guts today," head coach Johan Dulfer exclaimed. "We had to battle through so many hurdles to get the positive results we were hoping for. The team didn't make excuses, but instead focused on fighting through the adversity."
 
Ithaca 3 – Wesleyan 2 (25-23, 21-25, 15-25, 25-18, 15-9)
 
Facing a quick turnaround from yesterday's match, Ithaca returned to the court for its earliest scheduled match of the season at 9:00 a.m. against a tough Wesleyan outfit that was poised to score an upset. With little more than 12 hours of rest between matches, the contest proved to be a difficult ask for an Ithaca squad that has been playing shorthanded over recent weeks.
 
After scoring a 25-23 victory in the opening set, Ithaca dropped the next two frames against the scrappy Cardinals. The second set was a hard-fought battle, but Wesleyan was able to pull away late to take the frame 25-21. The Cardinals pulled away early in the third game to take a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-15 win.
 
Facing a deficit for the first time in nearly three weeks, the Bombers did not wilt under the pressure and fatigue. Ithaca flipped the script in the fourth set, pulling away from Wesleyan for a 25-18 win. The Bombers rode that momentum into the decisive fifth set, gaining an early edge and maintaining it for a 15-9 win to cap the come-from-behind victory.
 
"We really relied on each other today and had to really trust each other to figure out how to get it done," Dulfer said. "When it really mattered we showed so much purpose, especially on offense and in our blocking. Wesleyan really made us play every point multiple times and didn't make many errors, so we had to stay patient, which is not easy."
 
Sophomore, Katie Evans, paced the Bombers with 14 kills, while freshman, Taylor McCarthy, also notched double digits with 11 finishes.
 
Junior, Joelle Goldstein, and sophomore, Amanda Cerruti, each finished with nine kills. Cerruti continued her monster match with eight total blocks, her second highest single-match total of the season.
 
Junior, Kayla Gromen, led the Bombers with 23 assists, while freshman, Caitlyn Floyd, recorded 22 helpers.
 
Ithaca 3 – Endicott 0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-19)
 
Energized from its thrilling comeback in the first match of the day, Ithaca kept the positive play going against Endicott in the final match of the tournament. The Bombers controlled matters from the outset to down the Gulls in straight-sets, Ithaca's 12^th three-set win on the year.
 
"Against Endicott, our serve-pass game was very good, which made things a lot easier," Dulfer explained. "We carried over that purpose that we concluded the first match with. It was great to see the team thrive despite playing in a difficult back-to-back situation."
 
Ithaca swept Endicott in the only three-set match of the day at the tournament. The closest of the three frames was the first, in which IC used an 8-1 scoring run to pull away down the stretch for a 25-20 win.
 
The Bombers continued the hot hitting in the second frame, posting a .500 hitting percentage in the middle set. A 5-0 run midway through the set gave Ithaca a lead, which it went to extend further in coasting to a 25-15 win.
 
IC finished off the match with a 25-19 win in set number three, closing out the match with a .388 hitting percentage as a team, while also holding the Gulls to .095 mark.
 
McCarthy led the Bomber attack with eight kills, followed by Floyd and Cerruti with seven apiece. Goldstein chipped in three kills in the win.
 
Evans and junior, Caroline Gerulskis, paced the Bombers defensive effort with each recording five total blocks apiece. Floyd led IC with 13 assists, while Gromen added 12 helpers and a team-best five service aces.
 
Looking Ahead
Ithaca returns to action on Tuesday, October 18, when it welcomes SUNY Oneonta for a 6:00 p.m. non-conference tilt at Ben Light Gymnasium.