NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Quarterfinal
Who: Ithaca (24-8) vs. #7 Emory (30-6)
Where: Calvin College – Grand Rapids, Mich.
Arena: Van Noord Arena
Date: Thursday, November 16, 2017
Time: 12:30 p.m.
 
Live Coverage Information
Live Stats | Video Stream | Press Conference Stream | Twitter | Championships Portal | Media Notes
 
Ticket Information
Single Day Tickets
$10.00 for general admission (adults)
$7.00 for students, senior citizens, children and members of the military
$5.00 for volleyball clubs and teams
 
All-Session Tickets
$25.00 for general admission (adults)
$15.00 for students, senior citizens and members of the military
 
NCAA Division III Championship Schedule
NCAA Division III Championship Bracket
 
Quarterfinals (Thursday, November 16, 2017)
Match 1:
Ithaca vs. Emory – 12:30 p.m.
Match 2:
Gustavus Adolphus vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps – 3:00 p.m.
Match 3:
Swarthmore vs. Wittenberg – 5:30 p.m.
Match 4:
Calvin vs. Johnson & Wales (R.I.) – 8:00 p.m.
 
Semifinals (Friday, November 17, 2017)
Match 5:
Winner of Match #1 vs. Winner of Match #2 – 5:00 p.m.
Match 6:
Winner of Match #3 vs. Winner of Match #4 – 7:30 p.m.
 
NCAA Division III National Championship (Saturday, November 18, 2017)
Match 7:
Winner of Match #5 vs. Winner of Match #6 – 7:00 p.m.
 
How They Got Here
Ithaca entered the 2017 season with high expectations following a successful 2016 season, which garnered the program a second straight Empire 8 Championship and trip to the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals. Set for its first season as an affiliate member of the Liberty League, the Bombers were picked as the preseason favorite, while they were the second team in the 'receiving votes' category in the initial AVCA Preseason Top-25 Poll.
 
IC began the year with a difficult road trip to take part in the season-opening Colorado College Invitational over Labor Day Weekend. Looking integrate several new systems and some new contributors to the lineup, the Bombers got off to a disappointing 1-3 start on the weekend, which featured closely fought defeats to regionally-ranked programs in Berry and Whittier, as well as a close four-set match against invitational-host Colorado College, which would ascend to the pinnacle of the AVCA Top-25 as the season continued.
 
Ithaca's difficult early season slate continued in its return to the East, as the Bombers traveled to Huntingdon, Pa., for the two-day ASICS Invitational. Although Ithaca dropped a close five-setter to perennial power Juniata, the Bombers began to find their rhythm throughout the rest of the weekend. IC rallied to pick up a pair of victories in the final day of the event, one of which was a four-set triumph over fellow NCAA Quarterfinalist Swarthmore College.
 
Ithaca continued its momentum into its first home contests of the 2017 season, scoring three straight-sets victories over Franklin & Marshall, SUNY New Paltz and then-No. 22 Mary Washington in Ben Light Gymnasium. The dominant weekend showed signs of what was to come, as Ithaca closed the regular season on a 14-3 run.
 
Ithaca's postseason push began in earnest during the first weekend of October. Needing to score a big road result to remain in contention for hosting the Liberty League Tournament, the Bombers traveled to Potsdam, N.Y., and defeated perennial Liberty League power Clarkson in four sets. That victory ultimately proved the difference, as both the Golden Knights and Bombers finished the year with 6-1 records to pace the Liberty League during the regular season.
 
Although its Liberty League credentials remained strong, IC still needed to boost its non-League resume of wins and had the opportunity to do just that when it traveled to Michigan to take part in the Midwest Invitational, co-hosted by Hope College and Calvin College. The Bombers showed it could hang with the heavyweights in the Midwest, scoring resume-building victories over Hope, Elmhurst College, and Ohio Wesleyan. IC nearly made it a four-match sweep, but ultimately fell to then-No. 6 Calvin in a highly competitive four-setter on the Knights' home floor.
 
The final weekend of the regular season also afforded the opportunity for the Bombers to make a statement. Although IC let a match that it heavily controlled slip away against Stevens, the squad rallied to pick up a pair of impressive victories over Eastern University and then-No. 6 Carnegie Mellon University on the final day of regular-season play. The victory over the Tartans may have been the difference in Ithaca's ability to earn an at-large bid, as Clarkson upset the Bombers in a come-from-behind five-set thriller to secure the Liberty League's automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
For their performances during the regular season, six Ithaca players appeared on All-Liberty League Teams. Freshman outside hitter Reagan Stone and sophomore setter Caitlyn Floyd were First Team selections, while Stone was named Liberty League Rookie of the Year. Senior outside hitter Joelle Goldstein was a Second Team honoree, while junior libero Tara Stilwell and fellow third-year middle hitters Amanda Cerruti and Katie Evans were Honorable Mention selections.
 
Ithaca netted three players on AVCA All-New York Region Teams. Stone continued to reel in awards, as she was named the Region's Rookie of the Year in addition to being named to the AVCA All-Region Team. Goldstein and Floyd were Honorable Mention All-Region selections.
 
Ithaca's bevy of challenging road trips throughout the regular season proved extremely beneficial this past weekend, as the Bombers showed mental toughness and big-play ability to navigate its way to an NCAA Regional Championship when it traveled back to the site where the team's season initially took off at Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y.
 
After an NCAA Opening Round sweep of Commonwealth Coast Conference Champion Endicott, the Bombers got an anticipated rematch against their old Empire 8 nemesis in Stevens. Already down a set and trailing by four points midway through the second frame, IC stormed back to take three consecutive sets from the Ducks to punch its ticket to an NCAA Regional Final for the first time since 2000.
 
Facing upstart Babson in Sunday's Regional Championship, Ithaca's commitment in all phases helped the squad to a four-set victory over the Beavers. Junior middle hitter Amanda Cerruti had her biggest weekend of the season, totaling 35 kills, two solo blocks and nine block assists en route to being named Regional Tournament's Most Valuable Player. Sophomore setter Caitlyn Floyd and senior outside hitter Joelle Goldstein were also named to the Region's All-Tournament Team.
 
Thursday's match against No. 7 Emory University marks the Bombers first appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinals since the 1999 postseason. Ithaca's last Final Four appearance came in 1995.
 
First Meeting vs. Emory
The Bombers have never met Emory in the program's 50-year history. This Thursday will mark the first ever meeting between the two programs. The following is Ithaca's all-time record against all the NCAA Quarterfinalists:
 
vs. Emory (First Meeting)
vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (0-1)
vs. Gustavus Adolphus (Potential First Meeting)
vs. Wittenberg (0-5)
vs. Swarthmore (1-0)
vs. Johnson & Wales (R.I.) (3-1)
vs. Calvin (2-3)
 
About Emory
The Eagles have been one of the preeminent programs in Division III Women's Volleyball for over two decades. This year marks the 22^nd consecutive season that Emory has qualified in the NCAA Tournament, while it is their 23^rd appearance, overall. The Eagles have posted a 45-22 all-time record in the tournament, which includes five Final Four appearances (2014, 2013, 2010, 2008, 2003) and a National Championship in 2008. Emory enters Thursday's match with a record of 30-6, which is the program's 11^th consecutive year with 30-or-more wins.
 
More info on Emory can be found HERE: CLICK HERE.