ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College volleyball team made its return to South Hill for a tri-match on Saturday, as the Bombers welcomed Fredonia and Alfred to Ben Light Gymnasium. IC shook off the sting of its close loss at Vassar last week, running its record to a perfect 5-0 at home this season with a pair of three-set sweeps. Ithaca opened the day by defeating Fredonia (25-23, 25-14, 25-19), while it concluded the three-match day with a triumph over Alfred (25-9, 25-9, 25-13).
 
"I thought we did a good job of improving throughout the day," head coach Johan Dulfer said. "Both Fredonia and Alfred are well coached programs that presented some challenges for us. I just really felt that we came out with a focused effort, which showed today."
 
Back at Ben Light Gymnasium for the first time in two weeks, the Bombers looked in their usual home form in dispatching Fredonia in straight-sets during the opening match of the day. Although it took a little while for the timing and swinging arms to get loose with the early start time, IC out-killed the Blue Devils 42-to-23 in the match, finishing with a .198 hitting percentage as a team.
 
From the outset, the combination of sophomore Caitlyn Floyd and junior middle hitter Amanda Cerruti looked unstoppable. Cerruti had one of her best matches of the season to-date, finishing with a match-high 11 kills on .476 hitting. Her defense was just as dynamic, as she finished with two solo blocks and three more block assists in the contest. Floyd facilitated the offense flawlessly, finishing with a team-high 22 assists and adding two kills of her own.
 
On the outside, it was senior Joelle Goldstein that led the way, finishing with eight kills on .467 hitting. The Kings Park, N.Y., native filled out the stat sheet in a well-rounded effort, finishing with six digs, two block assists, two service aces, and one assist. Freshman Sarah Jennison saw extensive time in the rotation, registering six kills on the opposite pin, while also collecting a career-high nine digs. The rookie added to her splendid defensive effort with two solo blocks. Sophomore Taylor McCarthy added four kills and five digs.
 
Assisting Cerruti in the middle was another solid effort by freshman Reagan Stone, who has been accustomed to big matches of late. She racked up seven kills, while also adding a block assist and two acrobatic digs. Junior middle Katie Evans picked up two more kills for the Bombers.
 
Freshman Delaney Runyon had a strong match in her first home-court appearance of her collegiate career. She chipped in 14 assists, while also adding a match-high three service aces. Defensively, junior Tara Stilwell and senior Kayla Gromen played excellently behind the IC block, which racked up four solo blocks and six block assists in the match. Stilwell led the Bombers with 13 digs, while Gromen registered 10 digs and one service ace.
 
The closest of the three sets was the first, as IC scored the early leg-up with a 25-23 win. The first frame of the day did not look like it was going to be that close early-on, as IC strung together an 11-2 scoring run to blow open a 14-6 advantage. Jennison recorded both of her solo blocks during the run, while Goldstein spiked back-to-back kills.
 
Cerruti's second solo block of the set pushed Ithaca's lead to 19-10, before Fredonia battled back. The Blue Devils rattled off seven straight points to pull within two at 19-17. IC was able to hold off the furious charge down the stretch, as kills by Cerruti, Runyon, Evans and finally Stone closed out the set win.
 
"I thought our team did a good job of managing its emotions throughout the match," Dulfer explained. "We had good energy while things were going right, but I thought we also did a good job of remaining calm when things started going against us in the opening set. We did a good job of keeping focused and seeing out the win, which was big in the match."
 
Another early 9-1 second-set run put things out of reach for Fredonia in set number two. Stone registered four kills in the frame, while Cerruti added three, as IC easily gained a stranglehold on the match with a 25-14 win. Cerruti's hot-hand continued in the third set, as she finished with a team-best six kills, which proved to be the difference in a 25-19 win.
 
"We served tough and we came up with the plays when we needed them, which was all improvements over this past weekend when we kind of let nerves get the better of us in certain instances," Dulfer said.
 
Ithaca continued the momentum into the final match of the day, as the Bombers squared off against former conference foe Alfred. The Saxons never stood a chance in the match, as Ithaca out-killed them 38-to-13, hitting a scalding .471 success rate. Highlighting the performance was a dominant second set in which Ithaca registered 17 kills and hit .500.
 
"Our support has been big for us and is a big reason why we are undefeated at home," Dulfer said. "It was great to see the stands full of Ithaca supporters, which included four local area schools. We did a clinic with some of those players after the match, it was just a great feel-good afternoon all around."
 
Leading the IC attack was Stone, who went above double-digits for fifth time this season with a 11 kills on 14 attacks for a white-hot .643 hitting percentage. The rookie added five block assists in a strong all-around effort.
 
Joining Stone with strong performances in the middle was junior Ruby Dyson. Seeing her first action of the season, she posted five kills and a .500 hitting percentage on 10 attacks, adding a match-high six block assists. Freshman Katie Basey one kill.
 
On the outside, Goldstein and McCarthy each posted strong hitting efforts. Each player posted eight kills, McCarthy hitting .571, while Goldstein posted a .462 hitting mark. The senior had an excellent serving effort as well, posting a season-high five service aces.
 
Junior Hailey Adler saw action in the second match of the day, posting three kills and three service aces, while adding a team-high nine digs.
 
Floyd continued to facilitate an efficient IC attack, registering a match-high 20 assists and one kill. Runyon chipped in 10 assists.
 
Ithaca returns to action next Friday, October 6, as it welcomes St. Lawrence for its 2017 Liberty League home opener. Start time for the match is 6:00 p.m.
 
"I think we learned from this weekend to not take anything for granted and to always bring your best to the court," Dulfer said. "I think that will serve us well come the return of Liberty League play next weekend."