Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Ithaca College volleyball team continued its early-season surge on Saturday, completing the weekend sweep with a pair of 3-0 victories over Cabrini University and tournament-host Muhlenberg College. The two victories brings Ithaca's record to 7-2 on the year and stretches the Bombers' winning streak to six consecutive matches.
 
"We continued to play a purposeful brand of volleyball," head coach Johan Dulfer said. "The team has really gelled together well over these first couple of weeks and our game continues to elevate with each subsequent match."
 
The two victories capped a 4-0 weekend for the Bombers. Two Ithaca players were named on the Buttermaker All-Tournament Team, as junior Joelle Goldstein and sophomore Amanda Cerruti took home honors with a strong weekend of play. IC was the only team to place two members on the All-Tournament Team.
 
Ithaca 3 – Muhlenberg 0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-20)
 
Ithaca played one of their best matches of the season in the day's opening match against Muhlenberg. Motivated to deal the tournament host its first loss of the weekend, Ithaca came out sharp despite the early 10:00 a.m. start time.
 
"Muhlenberg is a well-coached team and they returned a lot of experience from last year, so we knew we would be in for a battle," Dulfer explained. "We have been doing a good job of elevating our game against strong opponents and I think the team really rose to the occasion again in the opening match."
 
IC used a 6-1 run to gain an early four-point advantage in the opening set. Sophomore Katie Evans sparked the point scoring run with a pair of kills, while junior setter Kayla Gromen caught the Mules defense off-guard with successful dumps on two successive rallies. Goldstein bookended the run with a thunderous kill on the outside.
 
A subsequent 5-1 run a few points later stretched the advantage to 17-10. Goldstein and sophomore, Hailey Adler, jump started the run with kills, while Evans continued her hot start with two more successful finishes. Although the Mules battled back into the set, eventually closing the deficit to 24-22, freshman, Taylor McCarthy closed out the opening set with a kill to take the opening frame 25-22.
 
"It was an interesting match because Muhlenberg played a very tactical game," Dulfer added. "They made us pick our spots and I thought we did a good job of taking what they were giving us throughout the match."
 
Ithaca put together perhaps its best set of the year in the middle frame to grab the decisive two-sets-to-none advantage. IC put together three four-point runs and a five-point scoring string to take the frame 25-13. The hitting was scalding hot during the set, as the Bombers racked up 15 kills on just 27 attacks to post a sensational .519 hitting percentage.
 
Goldstein marked four kills in the set, while sophomore, Kyle Dandrea, and McCarthy each added three kills apiece.
 
With the victory in sight, the Bombers did not let off the gas in set number three. IC battled back from a four-point deficit early in the frame to snatch back the lead midway through the set. Ithaca closed out the set on a 5-1 run to take the match.
 
Goldstein started and finished the run, notching a kill to give Ithaca a 21-19 advantage, before ending the match on an ace from serve. The third-year outside hitter led the Bombers with 11 kills on 20 attack (.350 hitting percentage), while she added seven digs.
 
McCarthy (8K-5E-23TA) and Evans (8K-2E-17TA) each finished with eight kills. Cerruti continued to be a defensive presence at the net, finishing with three solo blocks and one block assist. She added five kills on nine attacks (.333 hitting percentage).
 
Freshman, Caitlyn Floyd, led the team with 19 assists, while she continued her strong play on serve with a team-best three aces. Gromen added 16 assists and four digs.
 
Ithaca 3 – Cabrini 0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-17)
 
Facing a back-to-back for the second consecutive day, Ithaca was right back in action when it concluded the weekend against Cabrini. The Bombers did not get distracted from the task at hand, downing the Cavaliers in straight sets to complete the weekend trip.
 
"I thought we did a good job of staying engaged in the second match," Dulfer continued. "We really were looking forward to playing Muhlenberg, but we didn't get complacent after getting the win in the first match. We continued to play with fire."
 
Ithaca battled through a grueling first set to gain the early advantage with a 25-22 win in the opening frame.
 
"The Cabrini match was another one in which we learned we have the resiliency to come back," Dulfer said. "We had to feel out what worked and what didn't work."
 
Goldstein continued to pace the Bombers attack, posting a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. Adler and McCarthy each added eight kills. Sophomore Ruby Dyson added three kills in her first extended action of the season.
 
Floyd collected her first double-double of the season with a team-best 21 assists and 12 digs. Gromen chipped in 15 helpers.
 
Tara Stilwell continued her strong defense with 22 digs. She has marked 20-plus digs in four consecutive matches and seven of nine matches this season.
 
"It has really been a complete team effort," Dulfer added. "There is so much input from everyone during team huddles, it's great to see."
 
Looking Ahead
 
Through its busy opening week, Ithaca now will have some down time, before making another trip to the Keystone State next week.
 
"We're going to take some time to rest and do some community service to get away from the court a little bit," Dulfer concluded. "We will recharge and go back to the drawing board to get ready for another difficult challenge next weekend."
 
The Bombers will head to Lancaster, Pa., next weekend four another four-match slate at the Frankling & Marshall Scramble. Ithaca is set to face two more nationally-ranked opponents among the four matches, as IC faces Carnegie Mellon and Eastern in addition to tough matches against Stevenson and the tournament hosts.