GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Flying high after a fantastic start at the prestigious Midwest Invitational, the Ithaca College women's volleyball team returned to the court for its second doubleheader in as many days on Saturday. The Bombers began the day with a thrilling five-set come-from-behind triumph over Ohio Wesleyan (25-22, 14-25, 19-25, 25-23, 15-7), but had their eight-match winning streak snapped by sixth-ranked Calvin (6-25, 25-21, 23-25, 14-25) in four sets to conclude the day's action.
 
Ithaca finishes the two-day event with some significant non-conference victories that will certainly boost the squad's postseason resume. IC finished the weekend with a 3-1 record, adding its victory over Ohio Wesleyan to wins over Hope College and Elmhurst College last night. IC has now won 14 of its past 16 contests overall, closing the weekend with a 15-6 record.
 
"More and more coaches are moving away from playing 4 matches in a weekend because it's absolutely  grueling," head coach Johan Dulfer said following the day's matches. "We chose to do it this weekend to really dig deep and find out what we're made of. Overall, I'm so proud of how we competed throughout the weekend."
 
The Bombers began early afternoon double-dip with a challenging match against an Ohio Wesleyan outfit that entered the day with a 13-5 record on the year. IC struggled to get its offense into rhythm throughout much of the match, but were able to bare down in the clutch to score a thrilling comeback from down a set to win its first five-set victory of the 2017 campaign.
 
The first set was filled with lengthy scoring runs for each side. The Bombers posted streaks of seven and six during the frame, using the latter run to turn a 16-14 deficit into a 20-16 lead. Four kills down the stretch from four different IC players secured the early leg up in the 25-22 set win.
 
Ohio Wesleyan responded by frustrating Ithaca in both the second and third frames. IC was held to negative hitting percentages in each frame, as the Bishops scored comfortable set victories of 25-14 in the second and 25-19 in the third. Ohio Wesleyan jumped ahead 2-1, pushing the Bombers into a must-win situation in the final two frames.
 
With their backs against the wall, the Bombers responded with an excellent push to pull level in the fourth set. A 13-2 run midway through the frame proved to be the difference, helping IC jump out to an 18-8 advantage. Ohio Wesleyan pulled all the way back to within a point at 24-23, but a kill by freshman Sarah Jennison staved off the Bishops to force a decisive fifth set.
 
Ithaca entered the match with an 0-2 record in matches that went the distance this season. However, a pair of scoring runs ensured that IC was going to chalk one in the win column on this day. An early 5-0 run before the change-over gave Ithaca a significant edge, while the Bombers closed the frame on a 4-0 scoring run to seal the 15-7 win.
 
"I thought the battle against Ohio Wesleyan was one of the more gutsy performances I've seen from the team," Dulfer explained. "We showed that we have made progress from early this season where we let some good teams get away in five sets."
 
Junior Katie Evans paced the Bombers with 12 kills, while freshman standout Reagan Stone also hit double-digits with 10 finishing strikes. Evans also chalked up two solo blocks, while Stone marked four block assists. Junior Amanda Cerruti also had a big effort in the middle finishing with six kills and six block assists.
 
On the outside, senior Joelle Goldstein marked four kills, but tallied 20-plus digs for the second time in as many days, finishing with 21. Senior Caroline Gerulskis added seven kills and one block assist. Jennison registered three kills, while Adler posted 11 digs.
 
Junior libero Tara Stilwell posted one of her finest performances of the season. She marked a match-high 29 digs. Senior Marlee Wierda added seven digs, while senior Kayla Gromen posted three digs.
 
IC looked to finish off the weekend on a perfect note when it took on one of its toughest opponents of the season in the sixth-ranked tournament hosts. Unfortunately, the Bombers just barely ran out of steam down the stretch in the four-set defeat that snapped Ithaca's eight-match winning streak.
 
The Knights showed every bit of their quality in a dominant 25-6 set win to score an early 1-0 lead in the match. Ithaca made nine errors, while the Knights hit .476 in racking up 11 kills in the frame. Calvin scored the first 15 points in the frame to deal IC its most lopsided defeat in a game this season.
 
Despite the result of the first set, the Bombers showed excellent resilience in battling back to tie the match at 1-1 with a comprehensive effort in the second game. A 6-1 scoring run midway through the frame helped Ithaca pull level with the nationally-ranked Knights at 15-all. IC scored on five of the final seven rallies in the set to score a 25-21 win.
 
Ithaca had a chance to pull ahead in the match during the third game. The Bombers led 21-17 late in the frame, but Calvin pushed back with a strong comeback to overtake IC late. The Knights won eight of the final 10 rallies to steal the 25-23 win.
 
With the momentum stolen away, Calvin controlled the fourth set from the outset. The Knights slowly pulled away throughout the final frame to score the 25-14 set win.
 
"We left it all out on the court during that first match against Ohio Wesleyan and I think that had us exhausted for the start of the match against Calvin," Dulfer concluded. "The way we composed ourselves after that crazy first set makes me very proud. With a little more luck on our side, we maintain our lead in the third set and are up 2-1 against the defending national champions. I thought we took a major step in the development of our program this weekend. We learned that we belong and that we are on the right path."
 
Cerruti and Goldstein co-led Ithaca with nine kills apiece. Cerruti added one solo block and four block assists, while Goldstein posted seven digs. Stone was right behind the top duo with eight kills and two block assists.
 
Sophomore Taylor McCarthy added three kills, while Evans followed up her 12-kill performance in the first match of the day with a five-kill effort in the nightcap.
 
Sophomore setter Caitlyn Floyd posted 30-plus assists for the seventh consecutive match, finishing with 32 in the contest. She also added eight digs and two kills. Floyd was named to the All-Tournament team at the conclusion of the match. Stilwell paced the Bombers' defense behind the block with 20 digs.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Wednesday, October 18, when it returns to Liberty League action against RIT. The Bombers hit the road for the 6:00 p.m. tilt in Rochester.