ITHACA, N.Y. – The 19^th-ranked Ithaca College women's volleyball team returned to the court at Ben Light Gymnasium on Friday evening when it tipped off the final weekend of Liberty League regular-season play against Bard College. The Bombers kept the winning roll going on Friday, sweeping the Raptors in three sets (25-11, 25-18, 25-13) to improve to 17-5 on the year and maintaining a perfect 6-0 mark in Liberty League action heading into tomorrow's finale against Vassar.
 
Ithaca entered play on Friday already knowing that it could take a big step towards clinching hosting rights to the Liberty League Tournament next month. Sitting at 5-0, the Liberty League's lone unbeaten team, a win over the Raptors would ensure the Bombers at least a share of the regular-season crown. As it turned out, IC also got some help on Friday, as RIT bested Vassar in a five-set marathon, ensuring that for the second straight season Liberty League Tournament will once again run through Ithaca, N.Y. The Bombers conclude league play tomorrow afternoon against Vassar; however, by virtue of the team's head-to-head win over RIT last week, IC has already secured the regular-season title.
 
"I thought we served the ball really well tonight," head coach Johan Dulfer said following the match. "When we are committed to serving strong like tonight, it really makes it hard for teams to get into rhythm and makes us very difficult to play against. We took care of business and will try to build on this effort when we conclude Liberty League action tomorrow against Vassar."
 
Ithaca certainly controlled all aspects of the match thoroughly on Friday against a hard-working, but ultimately out-matched Bard squad. The Bombers out-paced the Raptors 42-to-9 in kills, hitting .305 as a team in the match, while Ithaca also racked up 17 service aces – the team's second highest total of the season. It was the fourth time this season that the Bombers posted a .300-or-better hitting percentage as a team for a match.
 
IC set the tone right from the opening serve, as junior setter Caitlyn Floyd helped the Bombers string together a 9-0 scoring run. Sophomore outside hitter Reagan Stone registered three kills during the stretch, while first-years Alison Lipton and Monet Peoples each chipped in one scoring swing. Floyd tallied two service aces herself during the streak.
 
Following a visitor timeout, the Raptors finally got on the board with two straight points; however, the good feeling was short-lived. A subsequent 10-1 scoring run by the Bombers blew the match even further open. First-year Jaelyn Hershberger registered three kills during the second lengthy run, while Stone and Peoples each added one kill. On the service side, first-year Jordyn Lyn Hayashi keyed the initial half of the run with one ace as a part of a 4-0 run, while senior libero Tara Stilwell posted three consecutive aces as part of a 6-0 surge. Although IC got a little sloppy down the stretch, allowing the Raptors to close the significant gap slightly, Ithaca saw things out comfortably. Stone, Lipton and senior middle Katie Evans each posted one kill, while sophomore Delaney Runyon chipped in one service ace.
 
The second set witnessed some sloppiness from the home side; however, the Bombers quality still shown through despite not firing completely on all cylinders in the game. IC still tallied 15 kills on .276 hitting despite registering seven attacking errors in the set. Some of the credit has to be given to the Raptors, as the visitors battled hard throughout the night and turned in some strong serving themselves to keep Ithaca out-of-system for stretched of the middle game.
 
The Raptors actually jumped out to a 6-2 lead in early in the middle frame, before Ithaca began to find the range. Hershberger and Stone sparked the comeback with a kill and ace, respectively. A 5-1 run keyed by a pair of kills each from Evans and Lipton lifted IC to its first lead in the frame.
 
Bard did not go away, keeping within a single point midway through the set. However, Ithaca finally gained some separation with another lengthy 7-0 scoring spurt. Stilwell added two more aces to her match-high total during the surge, while Hershberger and Evans added kills. The Raptors again hung tough, closing the deficit to three points at 20-17, before a 5-1 IC finish capped the set. Stone and Evans each tallied to kills during the final stretch to clinch the two-set lead for IC.
 
The Bombers were back to their fast starts in the third game. Behind strong play by reserves senior Ruby Dyson and junior Taylor McCarthy, Ithaca opened up a 12-3 lead. Dyson tallied a kill, while McCarthy added two scoring swings during the sequence. Of course, Stone was also up to her scoring ways with two kills as well.
 
A 7-1 scoring run put things out of reach for the visitors. Floyd tallied three service aces during the surge, while Dyson added one kill and one combo block with Stone. Lipton and McCarthy chipped in the other kills. Evans notched back-to-back kills to clinch the match for the Bombers.
 
Stone paced the Bombers with 12 kills on .333 hitting success. She also registered eight digs, two block assists, and one service ace. Hershberger registered six kills on .231 hitting, as well as a pair of digs. McCarthy posted five kills on scintillating .571 hitting, as well as one dig. Lipton also performed well in her return from four-match absence. She amassed six kills and three digs.
 
In the middle, Evans had another excellent outing with nine kills on .333 hitting success. She also posted a pair of block assists, defensively. Dyson marked two kills on .500 hitting, as well as a single block assist. Peoples notched two kills on .333 hitting.
 
Floyd once again turned in a masterful outing in distribution. She posted 37 assists and tied for a match-high with six service aces. She also chipped in one block assist and three digs, defensively.
 
The backline was not under major duress throughout the evening, but still turned in strong outings across the board. Stilwell led the way with 10 digs and tied with Floyd, posting six service aces. Hayashi finished with six digs and a pair of aces, while Adler had three digs and one ace. Runyon added one ace, while first-year Laura Severance also got into the contest for the final serve of the night.
 
Ithaca is back in action tomorrow afternoon when the Bombers conclude the regular-season home slate against Vassar. IC will honor its five senior members in a pre-match ceremony prior to the contest. Start time is set for 2:00 p.m.