HOLLAND, Mich. – The Ithaca College women's volleyball team kicked off one of its most difficult road trips of the season on Friday when it traveled to Michigan for the first day of the prestigious Midwest Invitational. The Bombers could not have asked for a better start to the event, building its postseason resume with a pair of convincing non-conference victories over Hope College in three sets (25-10, 25-17, 25-23) and Elmhurst in four sets (25-17, 25-22, 26-28, 25-18).
 
Ithaca entered today's invitational playing some of its best volleyball of the season, rolling into the weekend winners of five straight matches and 11 of its past 12, overall. However, the first day of the tournament featured a pair of stern tests in Hope and Elmhurst, both teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament a season ago. The Flying Dutch and the Blue Jays have been ranked in the AVCA Top-25 Poll for much of this fall, presenting the Bombers an excellent opportunity to show themselves and the nation how far the team has come since the beginning of the season.
 
Ithaca opened the day against first-day host, Hope College, a perennial power out of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The Flying Dutch play in one of the most intimidating venues in all of NCAA Division III at the DeVos Fieldhouse; however, IC sucked the life right out of the building from the get-go in its most impressive performance of the 2017 season.
 
"Hope is an incredibly well-coached team that boasts talent all over the court," head coach Johan Dulfer began. "I thought we put them on their heels right out the gates with that first set and just never let up in the match. Beating them 3-0 on their home floor is an incredible testament to the effort and purpose we played with in the match."
 
The Bombers set the tone for the day with a dominant opening set against the Flying Dutch, besting the home side 25-10. Two kills by freshman Reagan Stone, as well as a solo block by senior Caroline Gerulskis and a combo block by junior Amanda Cerruti and sophomore Caitlyn Floyd helped IC jump out to a 10-2 advantage in the frame.
 
A subsequent 6-1 run continued to extend the sizeable advantage. Four IC players netted kills during the streak, which included a pair of finishes from senior Joelle Goldstein, as well as a kill and service ace from junior libero Tara Stilwell. Another 7-0 run shortly thereafter eliminated any hope of a comeback in the frame.
 
While Hope seemingly righted the ship during the early portions of the second set, leading to a much more evenly played game, Ithaca again used a lengthy scoring run to take control. Trailing 13-12 midway through the set, Goldstein, Gerulskis and Stone helped power an 11-2 scoring run by the Bombers to effectively grab a stranglehold on the set and the match. Goldstein marked three kills and a service ace during the stretch, while Stone added three finishes and Gerulskis chipped in two kills.
 
The Bombeers continued to string together big momentum sustaining runs during the decisive third frame. Again trailing by a single point midway through the game, the visitors used a 9-2 scoring streak to essentially seal the match. Cerruti posted one kill and two block assists during the stretch, while Gerulskis continued her big night with two block assists. Although the Flying Dutch battled back into the set with a 5-0 run and later staved off three match-point opportunities, Gerulskis finished off Hope with a emphatic kill down the line to win the game 25-23 and the match 3-0.
 
Stone continued to lead the way offensively for the Bombers, posting a match-high 16 kills on .419 hitting. The rookie added three digs and a solo block.
 
At the pins, Goldstein and Gerulskis each finished with seven kills. Goldstein added six digs and a service ace, while Gerulskis posted three digs, two block assists, and one solo block. Fellow outside hitter, junior Hailey Adler, registered a team-best three service aces.
 
The middle was led by Cerruti, who finished with six kills and three block assists. Junior Katie Evans added two kills, two digs, and one solo block.
 
Caitlyn Floyd continued to run an efficient offense, finishing with 32 assists, while she just missed out on a double-double with nine digs. The second-year also came up with one block assist.
 
Behind the block, Stilwell marked 14 digs and chipped in two service aces. Senior Kayla Gromen also hit double-digits with 11 digs.
 
Despite the Bombers emphatic opening win, there was still much left to do on the day, as it faced another challenging side in Elmhurst in the second match of the doubleheader. IC maintained its urgency and purpose in a comprehensive effort against the Blue Jays.
 
"It was not an easy turnaround to immediately comeback to face another excellent team like Elmhurst," Dulfer said. "The Blue Jays have played the top strength of schedule in the country. They made it a challenge and did things to frustrate us throughout the match. I thought we did a great job of taking what they gave us and we did well to vary our looks to finish out the day on a strong note."
 
Ithaca continued its trend of strong opening sets with another excellent effort against Elmhurst in the first. The Bombers racked up 17 kills and hit .265 in the frame to take a 25-17 win. An 11-2 scoring run was the highlight of the frame, turning a 7-all tie into an 18-9 advantage. Evans powered the run with three kills, while Goldstein chipped in a pair of finishes as well.
 
The second set was close throughout, but the Bombers came up with the clutch plays down the stretch to overcome the Blue Jays to take firm control of the match. Trailing 21-19, IC rattled off four consecutive points, highlighted by kills from Evans and Goldstein, to pull ahead 23-21. Floyd clinched the set with a kill.
 
The closest frame of the contest was the third, which the Blue Jays eventually pulled out in extra points 28-26. Despite the loss, Ithaca continued to show great fight in the clutch moments, coming back from a seven-point deficit to earn a pair of match-point opportunities.
 
"I thought our proudest moment in the Elmhurst match was the fight we showed in coming back from that deficit," Dulfer exclaimed. "Although we did not pull the set out, I thought that the fight we displayed really gave us the confidence that we were not going to let things slip away in the fourth. We came out with a focused effort and put a strong end to the match."
 
An early 6-0 scoring run in the fourth frame gave the Bombers a lead they would never relinquish. IC led for the duration, capping the match with three straight points, punctuated by a pair of kills from Gerulskis.
 
Three players notched double-digit kills, headlined by a season-high 15 from Gerulskis. The senior hit .364 in the match, while she added four digs, two solo blocks, and one block assist. Evans chipped in a strong effort with 13 kills on a .370 hitting clip, while finished with 12 kills and a block assist.
 
Adding to the performance was a strong effort from Cerruti, who finished with nine kills on .316 hitting. IC's most imposing blocker added a pair of block assists. Goldstein chipped in four kills, but notched a season high with 22 digs.
 
Floyd had an excellent match, finishing with 49 assists, while she had impeccable timing inserting herself into the attack, finishing with a season-best six kills and earning a double-double with 11 digs.
 
Stilwell continued to pace Ithaca's defense behind the block, finishing with 26 digs. Gromen chipped in seven digs.
 
Adler and senior Marlee Wierda each added a service ace in the contest, while sophomore Taylor McCarthy pitched in a kill.
 
"I think as a group we have really begun to gain a great understanding of our individual roles and what our responsibilities are on the court," Dulfer explained. "We all trust each other out on the court and we are playing a great complimentary game."
 
Ithaca returns to action tomorrow afternoon when it plays two more matches in the second day of the invitational. First, IC will face Ohio Wesleyan at noon, while the Bombers take on sixth-ranked Calvin the final match of the day at 2:00 p.m. Both matches will played on Calvin's home court.
 
"I think we came out today looking to turn some heads that an eastern team could hold their own," Dulfer concluded. "Heading into today, I knew we were every bit as good as these teams and I think we proved that today. We'll continue to take things match-by-match and look to perpetuate the incremental improvements that have helped us during this recent stretch during tomorrow's matches."