ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's volleyball team kicked off its postseason on Friday night when it faced Skidmore in the semifinal round of the Liberty League Tournament. The Bombers racked up 51 kills in front of a raucous crowd at Ben Light Gymnasium to slide past the Thoroughbreds in straight sets (25-19, 25-17, 25-18). IC will look to punch a ticket to its third consecutive NCAA Tournament when it faces Clarkson in tomorrow's Liberty League Championship at 4:00 p.m.
 
"We expected Skidmore to be really tough and they certainly gave us everything we could handle tonight," head coach Johan Dulfer said. "They are a great up-and-coming program that will be a contender in the League for many years. I'm glad we were able to get off to a better start tonight than when we faced them the first time to pick up a big victory."
 
Ithaca's hitting was excellent from the outset, as the Bombers amassed an astounding 51 kills despite it being three-set match. The Bombers improved with each passing frame, posting 15 kills (.171 hitting) in the first set, 17 kills (.324 hitting) in the second, and a match-high 19 kills (.359 hitting) to close things out in the third frame.
 
"The thing about tonight's match is that I felt like we still had room for improvement with 8-to-12 points that usually go our way if we are executing correctly," Dulfer explained. "You have to give credit to Skidmore for how hard they battled. That semifinal match is always one where you seem to play a little more tight, but in the end pulling out a close match is always rewarding and I'm glad we were able to rise to the occasion to meet the challenge Skidmore provided."
 
The Bombers turned to their pin hitters to do the heavy lifting. The duo of freshman Reagan Stone and senior Joelle Goldstein answered the call, combining to crush 30 kills and 18 digs in the match. Stone racked up a match-high 16 kills over just two errors, hitting an outstanding .519. She also picked up her first double-double of the year with a career-high 10 digs, while also chipping in two block assists and one assist. Goldstein posted 14 kills on a .385 hitting clip, while also adding eight digs.
 
In the middle, junior Amanda Cerruti had an efficient effort, finishing with nine kills over just one error to post a team-best .533 hitting percentage. She also notched two block assists. Classmate Katie Evans chipped in five kills and a team-best three block assists.
 
Also adding kills on the evening were senior Caroline Gerulskis and freshman Sarah Jennison who split time in the rotation. Gerulskis posted four kills, two digs and one block assist in two sets of work. Jennison gave the senior a breather in the final set of the night, posting three kills and one dig.
 
Behind the block, junior libero Tara Stilwell turned in an excellent effort with a match-high 15 digs. Senior defensive specialist Kayla Gromen also posted double-digits with 11 digs. Freshman setter Delaney Runyon delivered several excellent serves in a specialist role, posting the team's lone service ace on the night.
 
Sophomore Caitlyn Floyd continued to distribute Ithaca's varied attacking options to perfection. She racked up 48 assists to go along with five digs and two block assists.
 
The Bombers grabbed a foothold in the match midway through the first set, scoring their first significant run of the evening to take command and inject more life into a crowd that was already buzzing before opening serve. IC strung together a 6-1 scoring run to take a 12-8 lead it would not relinquish for the duration of the frame. Four Ithaca players recorded kills during the stretch, highlighted by Stone who posted two kills and a block assist.
 
A 3-0 scoring run later in the frame widened the lead to five points, effectively sealing the early leg up for IC. Cerruti, Goldstein and Stone recorded kills on that streak. The freshman finished with seven kills on .778 hitting in the opening set.
 
"I think what was so evident tonight was how much fun our players were having out there on the court," Dulfer added. "The crowd was so awesome tonight and gave our players so much energy. It gave us such a great home-court advantage and I think our player really fed off that throughout the match. I hope we showed everyone how exciting high-level volleyball can be."
 
Two 5-0 scoring runs powered the Bombers to a two-set lead in the match during the second frame. Trailing 13-11 midway through the frame, Goldstein sparked the first 5-0 run with three kills to bring the crowd to deafening noise levels. A few rallies later another 5-0 run by the home side, bookended by Gerulskis kills widened the IC lead to 23-16.
 
The third set again quite close until the Bombers kicked things into high gear. With the game tied at 15-all, a 6-0 Ithaca scoring run, punctuated by three consecutive kills from Evans, gave IC firm command. Stone and Evans put the cap on the match a few short minutes later, combining on a block to end the match with a 25-18 third-set win.
 
"I'm so proud of how we really made things tough for opponent," Dulfer said. "So many players stepped up when their number was called upon tonight and those varying options make it incredibly hard for a defense to shut us down."
 
The Bombers move on to face Clarkson in tomorrow's Liberty League Championship. The second-seeded Golden Knights dispatched Vassar in the opening semifinal of the day, winning in four sets (25-11, 26-28, 25-23, 25-20). Ithaca will be looking to end Clarkson's run of five consecutive Liberty League Championships dating back to the 2012 season.
 
"I strongly feel that this team has put in the work, the sweat and the tears to get us in the position that we are in," Dulfer concluded. "There is nothing better than to be in this situation at the end of the season with a chance to win. I know these women will be ready for another difficult challenge tomorrow and I look forward to it."
 
Tomorrow's Liberty League Championship will get underway at 4:00 p.m.