ITHACA, N.Y. – Coming off one of the program's best years over the last decade, the Ithaca College volleyball team enters the 2016 season looking to replicate the success that led to 31 wins, an Empire 8 Conference championship, and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bombers' title defense will come under new leadership, as new head coach Johan Dulfer will look to usher in a new era for Ithaca volleyball in the program's final season in the Empire 8. With nearly the entire roster returning intact coupled with the influx of several incoming talents, IC looks well positioned to make some noise in 2016.
 
"It has been a really quick preseason with the way things aligned on the calendar," Dulfer began. "With so much to do, the learning curve has certainly needed to be quick. With a new coach, always comes a new system, but what we have tried to do as a staff is introduce an entirely new way of thinking about volleyball."
 
Although the volleyball program waved goodbye to only two key contributors from last year's squad, this preseason has had a completely different feel to it under the first-year head coach. The results of Dulfer's strategies and coaching methods are undeniable, as he guided Clarkson University to seven straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, which included four consecutive trips to the Elite Eight, during his 10 seasons at the helm of the Golden Knights, prior to joining Ithaca this past spring. He entered the preseason, which got underway just under two week ago, with a blank canvas, but the team's picture has begun to take shape during a rigorous yet spirited camp.
 
"When I joined the program back in the spring, I wanted to treat everything like a blank slate," Dulfer continued. "It did not matter to me what position or role you played in the past. I wanted to challenge the team to think about the game in new ways and treat everything objectively."
 
Despite adjusting to new roles, systems and positions, Dulfer has been encouraged by his team's work.
 
"Mentally, it has been very taxing this preseason," Dulfer continued. "But the team has done an excellent job taking on the challenge to get better every day in practice. In this setting, we are all new. It has been great to see the camaraderie between all of us build so quickly."
 
The adjustment period has been a two-way street, as Dulfer is joined by three other new members on his staff.
 
"The assistant coaches have been wonderful," Dulfer said. "My two main assistants, Kaley [Viola] and Dylan [Gawinski Stern], are the perfect blend of experience, energy, and knowledge. It's been really fun working with them. Additionally, the time we have been able to get out of Marissa, our volunteer assistant, we have taken full advantage of. It is a really well balanced staff and it is evident how strong of a trust we have developed so early on."
 
The coaching staff has certainly had a bevy of talent to work with. Four returning players earned Empire 8 All-Conference accolades, while three of those players went on to secure AVCA All-Region and AVCA All-American honors. Additionally, the influx five new players to the roster has brought a blend of youth and experience at all position groups.
 
"The interesting thing is at each of the four main position groups, our outsides, middles, setters, and defensive specialists, there is a great deal of returning experience and also some talented younger players," Dulfer exclaimed. "We are still experimenting with some players in different positions, but I can confidently say that everyone has gotten better. But that is just the starting point. The bar is going to continue to get set higher and higher."
 
Among returning players, headlining the hitters at the pins is talented junior standout Joelle Goldstein. The Kings Park, N.Y., native led the team with 381 kills and finished second with 340 digs a season ago. She was an Empire 8 All-Conference First Team selection, in addition to garnering AVCA All-Region and AVCA All-American Honorable Mention accolades.
 
The middle hitter group will be buoyed by the return of Katie Evans, who was named Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. She also joined Goldstein in receiving recognitions on the AVCA All-Region and Honorable Mention All-American teams. Evans finished the year second on the squad with 291 kills, while she added 12 solo blocks and 65 block assists.
 
Evans is joined in the middle by Amanda Cerruti. The rising sophomore had a strong debut season, leading the Bombers net-front defense with 20 solo blocks and 99 block assists. She held her own in attack as well, finishing fourth on the team with 182 kills. She was an all-conference honorable mention selection at the conclusion of the season.
 
The Bombers return their top distributor from last season in Kayla Gromen. She had a monster 2015, becoming the first Ithaca setter to dish out 1,000 assists in a season since 2009. She joined Goldstein and Evans on all three postseason honor lists at the conclusion of the year.
 
The team will certainly be tested right out of the gates, as the Bombers face a daunting non-conference slate. Ithaca's schedule is littered with difficult opponents, headlined by clashes against nationally-ranked foes in No. 3 Juniata and Dulfer's previous program, No. 20 Clarkson, during this opening weekend.
 
"There is not an easy opponent on the schedule during the first four weeks of the season," Dulfer said. "It certainly will give us an accurate barometer of where we stand on the national level, as we head into conference play."
 
Ithaca opens the year at the North Country Season Opener, where it will play four matches over the span of the two days. The Bombers begin the busy weekend on Friday, September 2, with matches against SUNY Brockport and St. Lawrence, at 4:00 and 6:30 p.m., respectively. IC rounds out the weekend's action the following afternoon with the aforementioned tilts against Juniata and Clarkson at 3:00 and 5:30 p.m., respectively.