Ithaca College Athletics

POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's volleyball was back on the court Saturday afternoon when it faced Stevens Institute of Technology for the second time in 15 days, this time in the Second Round of NCAA Regionals at Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y. The Bombers exacted revenge on their downstate rival, punching their ticket to tomorrow's Regional Final in a hard-fought four-set thriller (20-25, 25-19, 28-26, 25-17). Ithaca awaits the winner of the other semifinal between Clarkson and Babson, set to be played this evening.
 
"I want to congratulate Stevens on an excellent season and a fantastic effort in today's match," head coach Johan Dulfer began. "They gave us all we could handle and really put on a defensive master class against us. When you play Stevens the coverage that they play with is just so strong and it sometimes feels like you can never get a ball through, but I am incredibly proud of how we fought back and were able to score the positive result today."
 
With Saturday's victory, Ithaca is set to make its deepest incursion in the postseason in 17 years. The last time Ithaca has advanced to an NCAA Regional Final was in 2000, when it scored victories over Skidmore and site-host Elmira, before falling to nationally-ranked SUNY Cortland in a five-set heartbreaker in the final.
 
"There really is no greater feeling, especially with it being the senior year for several players on our team that have been in this situation the past few seasons," senior outside hitter Joelle Goldstein said. "You always want to be able to push the program further and it means a lot to us to be able to advance to tomorrow's final. We had the mindset today that we just were going to want it more and it was that drive that carried us. We will bring that same mentality to the court tomorrow."
 
The Bombers had revenge on the mind when they arrived to Clarkson's Alumni Gymnasium. Still smarting from a loss to the Ducks in which Ithaca controlled for vast stretches earlier this season at the Eastern Invitational, IC looked to settle the score with all the chips on the table. In a gutsy effort characteristic of the team throughout this season, the Bombers overcame and early deficit to win the match in four nail-biting sets.
 
Similar to a couple weeks ago, Ithaca held the decisive advantage in many of the counting stats in the match. IC out-paced Stevens 62-to-46 in kills, outhitting the Ducks .241-to-.191. The Bombers also held 72-to-61 edge in digs and 58-to-44 lead in assists. It was the Bombers tenaciousness and commitment in all phases that proved to be the difference, as a relentless block and strong service game gave the Ducks fits as the match progressed.
 
Three Ithaca players posted double-digit kill performances in the competitive tilt, led by junior middle Amanda Cerruti who turned in a season-high 17 in a dominant attacking effort. She hit .351 in the match, adding one solo block, two block assists and several other tipped balls over the course of the day.
 
Joining Cerruti in the middle was another solid match from junior Katie Evans. She finished with nine kills on .227 hitting, also adding two block assists and two digs.
 
On the outside, freshman Reagan Stone and senior captain Joelle Goldstein delivered strong efforts. Stone posted 13 kills and eight digs, while also adding one block assist and one service ace. Goldstein notched a double-double with 11 kills and 17 digs, also chipping in one block assist and one service ace.
 
Also turning in a big effort at the pins was freshman Sarah Jennison, who came off the bench during the momentum turning second set to deliver a huge performance. The rookie racked up six kills on .267 hitting over the final three frames. Senior Caroline Gerulskis added three kills on three attacks. Junior Hailey Adler posted one kill and five digs over four frames.
 
Sophomore setter Caitlyn Floyd distributed the offense expertly. She amassed a career high 54 assists and added five digs, two block assists and one solo block in an all-around clinic. She also picked up two crucial kills that were large in both the third and fourth sets.
 
Behind the block, junior libero Tara Stilwell led the way with 20 digs and one assist. It was the third-year player's 10^th double-digit dig match of the season. Senior Kayla Gromen added 11 digs, two service aces, and one assist. Senior Marlee Wierda added a service ace.
 
It was a difficult start for IC in the opening set, as Ducks took advantage of some shaky serve-receive and missed opportunities on behalf of the Bombers. The struggles continued into the second frame, before Ithaca was able to turn the tide.
 
Already leading by a set, Stevens strung together a 7-1 run to open up a four-point gap in the second game. Although Ithaca responded with a scoring surge of its own briefly pull ahead, the Ducks pushed back to take an 18-15 lead nearing the end of the set. Following a timeout, the Bombers flipped the match on its head with a pivotal 7-0 scoring run to pull ahead 22-18. Stone and Cerruti came up large during the stretch, each notching a pair of kills, while Cerruti added a solo block.
 
The Bombers closed out the frame on a 3-0 run. Cerruti sparked the string with an emphatic kill on an overpass, while Goldstein sealed the set with back-to-back kills.
 
"It makes things easy as a setter when you know that we have hitters that will be ready to put the ball down no matter the situation," Floyd said. "I just tried to put the ball in good places for them to succeed and everyone did a great job of finishing today."
 
The crucial third set had a similar feel as the second. Stevens snagged an early lead in the frame and held it for the majority of the set, before IC was able to make a late charge. A 6-2 spurt, which featured two kills from Cerruti and one from Jennison on a long rally pulled the Bombers back to level terms at 18-18.
 
The two sides continued to trade points over the ensuing few serves with Stevens pushing Ithaca to the brink at 24-23. Following a timeout, it was the combo from earlier in the frame that came up with the crucial plays to stave off set point. Cerruti boomed another monster kill to push the frame to extra points, while Jennison smacked a cross-court finish to send IC into the lead. Although the Ducks were able to stave off a pair of set points, the Bombers finished off the 28-26 set win with Goldstein again delivering a clutch kill.
 
"Something changed during that third set," Dulfer explained. "During timeouts and the way we were communicating. When we were pushed to our absolute limit where we needed to find an answer, the team was able to dig deep and come up with the crucial plays in the big moments. As a coach it is just so great to see how we responded in those big moments and we all are incredibly grateful to be moving on."
 
With its first lead in the match, Ithaca came out fast in the fourth set. The Bombers avoided the early deficit that plagued them in the earlier sets against the Ducks, trading points through the first 20 serves. Ithaca took control of the frame midway through with a 7-1 scoring run that was fueled by some strong service and timely plays all over the court. Floyd, Jennison and Evans each marked a kill during the run, while Stone put the cap on it with consecutive kills to help IC open up an 18-12 lead.
 
Although the Ducks were able to close the gap to just two points with a 4-0 surge following a timeout, the Bombers sealed the match with a  7-1 stretch to advance to Sunday. Cerruti was a force down the stretch, marking three kill and on block assist, which included the match decider.
 
"We are so grateful to be moving on and we look forward to facing one of two really great teams that play in tonight's semifinal," Dulfer concluded. "We'll look to take things one day at a time and hopefully emerge with the result we want tomorrow."
 
Tomorrow's NCAA Regional Final is set to be played at 1:00 p.m.