ITHACA, N.Y. – Fresh off a pair of convincing victories in the opening day of the 2017 Bomber Invitational, the Ithaca College women's volleyball team looked to put the finishing touches on its impressive weekend on Saturday afternoon when it faced SUNY New Paltz. The Bombers remained hot in the second day of IC's first home event, blasting the Hawks in straight sets (25-15, 25-16, 25-19). The win was Ithaca's fifth straight, while it improved the team's record to 6-4 in advance of its Liberty League debut next Friday night.
 
The Bombers turned in their most impressive hitting performance of the weekend on Saturday, racking up 45 kills on 90 attacks to hit a season-best .367 as a team. IC's well-rounded offense was again running like a well-oiled machine against the Hawks, creating matchup nightmares all over the court as five players notched five-or-more kills.
 
"We talked before today's match about bringing a certain level of play to each match regardless of circumstances and being able to rely on that," head coach Johan Dulfer said. "I thought we did a really great job doing that today. In particular, our serve-pass game was what really set us apart this afternoon. I thought that we won that aspect of the match handily and more often than not that determines the outcome of the match."
 
Ithaca placed three players on the All-Tournament team by virtue of going undefeated on the weekend, as senior outside hitter Joelle Goldstein, freshman middle hitter Reagan Stone and sophomore setter Caitlyn Floyd were all tabbed for selection.
 
Goldstein earned her spot as an honoree as she again paced the Bombers with a match-high 11 kills on .375 hitting. She also posted three service aces and seven digs. Stone also backed up her huge effort from last night with another strong outing this afternoon, notching 10 kills on .375 hitting. Floyd also was named an honoree after another huge effort from the setting position. Distributing excellent sets for IC's diverse and dangerous attack, Floyd finished with 40 assists, while also adding three kills, one service ace, and four digs.
 
Junior middles Amanda Cerruti and Katie Evans continued terrorize the Hawks with excellent offensive days. Evans racked up eight kills on 12 attacks (.583 hitting), while Cerruti finished with seven kills on 12 efforts (.417 hitting) as well as two solo blocks and one block assist.
 
Sophomore pin-hitter Taylor McCarthy rounded out Ithaca's offense at the pins, finishing with six kills (.176 hitting), while also posting one block assist and seven digs. Senior defensive specialist Kayla Gromen finished with three service aces and four digs.
 
Junior libero Tara Stilwell had another solid outing with a team-best 12 digs and an assist, while freshman Nicole Cherro posted five digs. Junior Hailey Adler added one dig in three sets of action.
 
"What was really interesting about today's match is that neither team gave the other a lot of points with errors," Dulfer continued. "We had to earn a lot of our points with kills and I think that speaks well to how we were able to perform, as both teams were really fighting for it."
 
On the strength of a 4-0 run to begin the match and a subsequent 6-0 scoring stretch shortly thereafter, Ithaca never allowed New Paltz to gain traction in racing out to a big 12-3 advantage in the opening frame. Although a 4-0 run by the Hawks briefly cut the deficit to 15-9 midway through the set, another big run by the Bombers, this time an 8-0 string, effectively sealed the early leg up for IC.
 
Goldstein led the way with four kills in the opening set for IC, while McCarthy added three finishes at the opposite pin. Stone, Cerruti and Evans each marked two in the first frame.
 
Ithaca again jumped out to a fast start in the middle set, as Stone and Evans each posted two kills apiece to jettison the Bombers to an early 6-1 advantage. IC doubled its margin midway through the frame when a 5-0 run with Stilwell on serve widened the gap to 15-5. A 4-0 run shortly after, powered by a pair of aces from Gromen gave Ithaca a commanding two-set-to-none lead in the match.
 
IC's hitting continued to step up in the key moments in the decisive third set. Leading by a single point at 18-17, the Bombers won seven of the final nine rallies to close out the match. Evans, Stone, McCarthy and Cerruti each registered a kill during the final stretch, while Goldstein and Gromen picked up service aces.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Friday, September 22, when it travels to Bard College for its Liberty League debut. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
 
"We start off with a tough road trip to beginning Liberty League play," Dulfer concluded. "You really want the weekend before that to be strong and we accomplished that, so I think this weekend served as a reminder that we are ready to go."