POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Ithaca College volleyball team had a quick turnaround on Saturday, as it returned to the court for the second match in the opening weekend of Liberty League action when it faced League heavyweight Vassar on Saturday afternoon. Entering the day riding a six-match winning streak, the Bombers looked to close out its first road trip in League play on a high-note. Unfortunately, the Brewers had other ideas, coming up with the clutch points to score a tight four-set victory (25-23, 25-23, 14-25, 25-21), dealing IC its first loss in League play.
 
"Unfortunately, today felt like we were playing from behind the entire match even though we held comfortable leads throughout the match," head coach Johan Dulfer said. "We have to give all the credit to Vassar, who just wanted it more than us today. It hurts to lose such a close match, but it's also reassuring to know we have much more to give and we will be back."
 
Not much separated the two sides on this day, as both the Bombers and Brewers racked up 51 kills in the contest. Ithaca hit .225 to Vassar's .236 mark, while the error count was 19-to-18 in favor of the home side. Reflecting the closeness of the stats, three out of the four sets were decided by a total of seven points.
 
Continuing her breakout, freshman middle hitter Reagan Stone was the go-to option for Ithaca throughout the contest. She set a new career high with 16 kills (.433 hitting), while also tying for a team-best with four block assists. The rookie led a concerted effort for IC to feed the middles, as junior Katie Evans notched seven kills on .417 hitting, while junior Amanda Cerruti posted eight kills, one solo block, and four block assists.
 
Senior pin-hitter Joelle Goldstein added a double-double on the outside with 11 kills and 13 digs. Chipping in on the outside was sophomore Taylor McCarthy, who picked up a pair of kills, while junior Hailey Adler added one kill.
 
Sophomore setter Caitlyn Floyd had a huge effort in the contest, posting five kills and racking up a team-best 36 assists. Defensively, junior libero Tara Stilwell finished with a team-high 19 digs.
 
The opening set was incredibly close with both sides trading points throughout the frame. The turning point in the set came with the Bombers leading 17-14, Vassar strung together four straight points to take the slim lead. The two sides traded points over the next four rallies with Goldstein notching a kill to tie the set at 20-all. However, the Brewers won the next two points to take a lead they would not relinquish. Although Stone would bring IC within a point twice down the stretch with kills, Vassar held on for the 25-23 win.
 
The second set had a similar blueprint with both team's trading points throughout much of the set. The Bombers put together a three-point run, powered by kills from Goldstein and Cerruti, to take an 18-16 lead. However, Vassar responded five of the next six points to snatch back the lead at 21-19. Twice the Bombers battled back to tie the score at 22- and 23-all, as the visitors turned to Stone and Evans for clutch kills. However, the home side turned to Jane McLeod for the finish, as she scored two of her match-high 21 kills to close out the set 25-23.
 
IC put together its best set of the contest in the third to stave off elimination and force a fourth frame. The Bombers hit .312 as a team and recorded 13 kills to easily outdistance the home side for a 25-14 win. However, the Brewers took back momentum in the final frame. A six-point run midway through the fourth set lifted Vassar to a 17-11 lead it would not relinquish.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Saturday, September 30, when it returns to Ben Light Gymnasium to host a tri-match. IC will face Fredonia at 11:00 a.m. and Alfred at 4:00 p.m.