ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – One day after suffering a disappointing defeat to Stevens, the Ithaca College women's volleyball team turned its most comprehensive performance of the season in scoring a pair of huge resume-building victories over Eastern University and sixth-ranked Carnegie Mellon. The two wins improves the Bombers record to 20-7 ahead of next weekend's Liberty League Championships where IC will play host as the top seed.
 
"What a difference a day makes," an ecstatic head coach Johan Dulfer said following the two matches. "After yesterday's defeat, we talked about playing the rest of the season ahead of us without fear and lots of purpose. I thought that was especially present in our serving and our team energy today."
 
Ithaca began the day by playing an Eastern squad that began the season ranked in the AVCA Top-10 and still entered the match with a strong 18-10 record. The Bombers got off to an excellent hitting start and never looked back in a dominant three-set triumph over the Eagles.
 
Ithaca out-paced Eastern 44-to-30 in kills, while it swung at a scintillating .306 success rate in the match. The Bombers topped 13-plus kills in each of the three frames, posting 17 in the first and 14 on a red-hot .423 hitting to close out the match in the decisive third set.
 
Freshman outside hitter Reagan Stone kicked off her huge day with a career-best effort to lead the IC attack. She finished with a career high 20 kills on .457 hitting. The rookie added one service ace and three digs. Chipping on the outside was senior outside hitter Joelle Goldstein had seven kills, seven digs, and one solo block.
 
The middle attack was led by junior Katie Evans, who posted nine kills on a .412 hitting mark. Classmate Amanda Cerruti added four kills on .429 hitting, while she tied for the team-lead with three block assists.
 
Sophomore setter Caitlyn Floyd continued to post excellent numbers, dishing out 35 assists. She also was textbook in picking her spots to dump and attack, finishing 3-for-3 in attack attempts. The second-year player added four digs, three block assists, and two service aces.
 
Defensively, junior libero Tara Stilwell finished with a match-high 16 digs, while she added a pair of assists. Senior specialist Kayla Gromen added seven digs.
 
The turning point in the early part of the match was a 6-0 scoring run that turned a 16-15 deficit into a 21-16 lead. Stone was a monster during that stretch, picking up three kills, while Evans added a kill and Floyd posted a service ace.
 
The second frame had a similar situation, as again IC was trailing 19-16, before roaring to a 9-3 finish in the final 12 rallies. A 9-4 scoring run midway through the third set proved to be the difference in sealing the match with Stone and Evans each notching a pair of scoring finishes during the stretch.
 
The Bombers continued the momentum into the final match of the day against the sixth-ranked Tartans of Carnegie Mellon. CMU entered the match with just two regular season defeats, but IC continued to swing at a successful rate to pull out the four-set win.
 
An imposing block and strong passing play was no match for Ithaca's best match of the season, as Ithaca out-paced Carnegie Mellon 62-to-42 in kills and 63-to-42 in digs, making the clutch plays in the crucial times to pull out the program's second victory over a nationally-ranked foe this season.
 
Stone took it to another level in the match against the Tartans, racking up a season-high for the team with 29 kills on .333 hitting. She narrowly missed out on the double-double, adding nine digs. IC also got big contributions from senior outside hitter Caroline Gerulskis, who posted 10 kills, five digs, and one block assist.
 
Cerruti paced the Bombers in the middle, finishing with six kills. She also had one solo block and one block assist to extend her team-lead in blocking. Evans chipped in three kills.
 
Also contributing at the pins were Goldstein and freshman Sarah Jennison. The senior marked four kills and two digs, while the rookie finished with six kills and six digs on a solid effort off the bench.
 
Floyd distributed expertly yet again, finishing with 46 assists and four kills. She also added two service aces, eight digs, and one solo block.
 
Behind the block, Stilwell led the way with 15 digs. She also had a big effort offensively with four assists and three service aces. Gromen also finished with double-digits in the pass game, finishing with 12 digs. The senior also notched four assists and two service aces.
 
"We are very proud of the effort today against two outstanding teams," Dulfer concluded. "We are excited to get to work to prepare for Skidmore."
 
Ithaca returns to action on Friday, November 3, when it faces fourth-seeded Skidmore in the semifinal round of the Liberty League Tournament. The match is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Ben Light Gymnasium.