POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's volleyball team kicked off its NCAA Tournament play on Friday afternoon when it faced Endicott College in the Potsdam, N.Y., Region. On a comprehensive effort, the Bombers neutralized the Gulls attack to take the match in three sets (25-17, 25-20, 25-17). IC advances to tomorrow's Regional Semifinal where it will face the winner of Friday's 3:00 p.m. match in Stevens who bested Merchant Marine in straight sets.
 
Friday's victory marks the third consecutive year the Bombers have advanced to the NCAA Second Round. It is the longest stretch of NCAA First Round victories since a five-year run from 1997-to-2001. It took a workmanlike performance for the Bombers to get past an Endicott side that made them work for every point. A diligent effort in all phases powered Ithaca to a victory that has them poised for a deeper postseason incursion.
 
"First, we want to congratulate Endicott College on an excellent season," head coach Johan Dulfer began. "We knew they were going to give us an extremely tough match and they certainly did so this afternoon. At this point in the year its always two good teams going at each other and I'm happy that we were able to come out on top here today."
 
Ithaca out-paced Endicott 38-to-30 in kills throughout the match, outhitting the Gulls .186-to-.084. A strong reason for that was IC's commitment to serve-receive, as well as a relentless block that hampered Endicott's potent pin hitters. The Bombers posted nine service aces in the match, while they out-blocked the Gulls 8.0-to-2.0, which included countless tip balls that allowed IC to get hitting chances of its own.
 
"Our serving was really great today and it's something that we always try to utilize to our advantage," senior Kayla Gromen said. "Everyone did a good job of placing the ball where we wanted and we executed the short serve well when we decided to switch things up midway through the match. Winning the serve-pass is always key for us and we got it done today."
 
In attack, Ithaca made a concerted effort to utilize its middle combination in juniors Amanda Cerruti and Katie Evans. The paced the Bombers with a combined 18 kills in the match, each finishing with nine in the match. Cerruti hit at a scintillating .467 clip with just two errors in 15 total attacks. Evans rained down finishes at a .318 success rate, again just committing two errors over 22 total attacks.
 
Defensively, the combo accounted for seven of Ithaca's 14 block assists in the match. Cerruti finished with four combo stuffs, while Evans marked three. Several of their biggest blocks came in the most crucial moments, often stymieing Endicott runs.
 
"Our serve-receive really allowed us to run the offensive set the way we wanted," Dulfer continued. "Our middles are so tough to stop. It is such a nice thing to know we have so many options on the court that are able to play off each other to create space. We did a good job of communicating and it led to a strong performance."
 
At the pins, the Bombers received contributions from several players. Senior Caroline Gerulskis paced the outside group with six kills, adding six digs, as well as one solo block and one block assist. Classmate Joelle Goldstein finished with five kills, 10 digs, two service aces and one block assist in an all-around effort. Freshman Reagan Stone, fresh off being named AVCA All-New York Region Rookie of the Year, marked five kills, four digs, two block assists, and tied for a team-high with three service aces. Junior Hailey Adler chipped in one kill and one dig in three sets of action.
 
When the block was not getting the balls, the Bombers' passing often times did. Leading the way was junior libero Tara Stilwell, who turned in one of her strongest matches of the season. She amassed a team-high 17 digs and added four points offensively with three service aces and one kill. Senior Kayla Gromen posted five digs, one assist, and one kill. Senior Marlee Wierda delivered several excellent serves to keep Endicott off-balance.
 
Sophomore setter Caitlyn Floyd made the offense go with a 31-assist effort. She also added three digs, three block assists, and one service ace.
 
The opening set was played quite close through the first several side-outs. The first significant run for either side was a 4-0 surge by the Bombers that lifted IC to a 13-9 advantage midway through the frame. Although the Gulls were able to whittle the lead down single point twice at 14-13 and 15-14, Ithaca's modest run was first sign of what was to come next.
 
Ithaca exploded for six consecutive points to blow open the first set at 21-14. Cerruti sparked the run with a pair of kills, while Stone scored all three of her service aces in the match during that stretch. Gerulskis added her solo block to cap the run. The Bombers saw out the set with a three-point run, which featured a combo block by Cerruti and Floyd, a service by Stilwell and a powerful kill by Goldstein to seal the set.
 
The second set was the most pivotal in the match, as IC turned around a deficit throughout much of the frame with a furious comeback down the stretch. Endicott jumped out to an early 10-6 lead and maintained the advantage around four-to-five points throughout much of the middle portion of the set.
 
Trailing 18-14, Ithaca surged forward with a 7-0 scoring run that lifted IC into a 21-18 lead. It was one again Cerruti and Evans that paved the way. The West Islip, N.Y., native sparked the run with a kill, while Evans notched a kill and key combo block with Floyd to keep the run going. Stilwell's strong serve powered the run, a stretch that also saw her collect two service aces. Evans gave the Bombers the finishing punch with a kill that gave IC a two-sets-to-none advantage.
 
"This week we put an emphasis on the block and I'm glad it was able to come through today," Cerruti said. "Our pin hitters did a great job of setting up the block and allowing the middles to get over to help. They had great coverage on a few of our blocks, but the block really put stress on them today and it really helped us today."
 
The Bombers' momentum carried into the third frame, as the team jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Although Endicott responded with six consecutive points to pull back into the set, IC slowly pulled away throughout the set. A 5-1 scoring run, which featured two kills by Evans and a kill by Floyd extended Ithaca's lead to 19-13. Ithaca notched a second 5-1 scoring run to close out the match, with Gerulskis and Cerruti each delivering two kills.
 
Ithaca will face Stevens in tomorrow's Regional Semifinal. Start time for the match is 2:30 p.m.