Ithaca 3 – Oswego State 0 (25-16, 27-25, 25-20)
 
ITHACA, N.Y. – Coming off a 2-2 weekend against some stiff competition in the North Country, the Ithaca College women's volleyball team made its home debut on Tuesday evening when it welcomed Oswego State to Ben Light Gymnasium. In a match filled with momentum swings, the Bombers scrapped their way to a straight-sets victory, dispatching the Lakers 25-16, 27-25, 25-20. The win improves Ithaca's record to 3-2 on the season.
 
"The fun part about tonight was the chess match that was taking place on the court," head coach Johan Dulfer remarked. "Oswego [State] is a much improved team and they are extremely well coached. They did a good job taking some things away from us and it really was the type of match that was very strategic. It was a lot of fun to see the girls respond to the challenge in the way that they did."
 
In what has become a trend through the first few contests, Ithaca continued to vary its attack through several different outlets. Four different IC players recorded kills through the opening 10 rallies, as the teams traded points early in the match.
 
Ithaca gained its first significant separation with a three-point run with the game tied at 7-all. Junior Joelle Goldstein and sophomore Katie Evans combined for a block on Oswego's Alison Sullivan. Freshman Taylor McCarthy followed with her first of four service aces in the match to lift IC to a 10-7 advantage.
 
The teams went on to battle back-and-forth to a stalemate midway through the opening frame, with Sullivan besting the Ithaca block to tie the set at 15-15. Then IC took over.
 
The Bombers rattled off 10 of the next 11 points to snatch the first set 25-16. Nine of those points were won with McCarthy starting the point, as the freshman continued to baffle the Lakers with precise serving.
 
"There really was not much to it other than that we served tough and they had a difficult time making passes," Dulfer said about the run. "They did the same thing to us during stretches of the match. The most fundamental part of volleyball is the serve-pass game and until you get that working in your favor it is hard to get much going."
 
McCarthy got Ithaca up and running in the middle set, notching back-to-back service aces to begin the frame. However, Oswego punched back with 7-0 run to take a commanding 15-8 lead, as IC's passing game struggled to contend with the serve of the Lakers' Lindsey Champitto.


Following Dulfer's second-called timeout in the middle set, Ithaca began to chip away at the visitors lead. McCarthy and Evans recorded consecutive kills to spark the comeback. Trailing 16-9, the Bombers went on a 12-3 run to take the lead back at 21-19.
 
"I was most impressed with the run that we made in the second set," Dulfer continued. "We talked during our two timeouts about tuning out the scoreboard and playing with belief and purpose. We have only been down like that in a set a couple of times this year and both times we were not able to come back. Today we were able to, so that is a big improvement to be able to takeaway."
 
IC pushed the Lakers to the brink freshman setter, Caitlyn Floyd, on serve, but the visitors did not wilt, scoring three straight points to temporarily stave off the Bombers' bid to take a commanding two-sets-to-none lead. IC quickly collected consecutive points early into extra-points to take the middle frame 27-25. The comeback brought the noise-level at Ben Light to its loudest point, as the sizeable crowd made its presence felt.
 
"I hope that we gave everyone a taste at how fun volleyball can be," Dulfer said. "The emotion, work ethic, the skill involved are all things that we hope the fans appreciated tonight. I though the crowd was great tonight and look forward to continue having that support as the season continues."
 
Holding the substantial edge heading into the third set, Ithaca was intent on ending the match quickly. Hailey Adler, McCarthy and Goldstein each recorded a pair of kills to stake the Bombers to a 12-7 lead. However, the trend of momentum swings continued, as Oswego climbed back into the set to tie the frame at 17-all.
 
A three-point run by the Bombers, punctuated by a thunderous kill by Goldstein lifted IC to a lead it would not relinquish. Sophomore Amanda Cerruti added a kill down the stretch, as Ithaca took the third set 25-20 and the match in straight sets.
 
McCarthy paced the Bombers with nine kills on 20 attacks (.200 hitting percentage), while she also added a team-leading four service aces. Goldstein posted six kills and 10 digs, while Evans had an efficient night with six kills on 13 attacks for a team-best .385 hitting percentage.
 
Cerruti and fellow second-year player, Kyle Dandrea, each finished with four kills, while Cerruti marked a solo block and four block assists to continue her stellar defensive work at the net front. Hailey Adler chipped in five kills and six digs.
 
Floyd paced the Bombers in the setting department, marking 16 assists and a pair of service aces. Junior Kayla Gromen added 14 helpers and three digs. Sophomore transfer, Tara Stilwell, led IC with 14 digs in the match.
 
"It has been great to see that different players have been stepping up and have provided meaningful contributions every match," Dulfer continued. "You cannot become a great team unless you are able to get production throughout your lineup and it has been encouraging that we are seeing that so far."
 
Ithaca is set to continue its busy non-conference stretch this coming weekend. The Bombers will play two matches on both Friday, September 9, and Saturday, September 10, as part of the Muhlenberg Invitational in Allentown, Pa. IC opens the two-day stretch with matches against the University of Scranton and DeSales at 3:00 and 5:00 p.m., respectively, on Friday.