SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Back on the court less than 24-hours following its impressive three-set whitewashing of Skidmore on Friday night, the 19^th-ranked Ithaca College women's volleyball team continued its weekend road swing against a talented Union outfit on Saturday afternoon. In stark contrast to Friday night's commanding win, Saturday proved to be a barnburner down to the wire with Ithaca pulling out a huge five-set win over the upstart Dutchwomen to remain a perfect 4-0 in Liberty League play heading into the crucial home stretch.
 
Trailing by a set early, the Bombers responded with a pair of commanding wins in the second and third games by scores of 25-20 and 25-17, respectively, to pull ahead heading into the fourth. Fighting to extend the match, Union turned the fourth frame into a marathon, ultimately scoring the 32-30 victory to send the contest to a decisive fifth set. IC showcased its mettle and mental toughness in the final set of the weekend, jumping out to an early advantage and never allowing Union back into the game to take the final set by a 15-8 score. The win ensures that IC has full control of its postseason fate heading into the home stretch, as the Bombers face its final three Liberty League opponents in RIT, Bard and Vassar all within the friendly confines of Ben Light Gymnasium.
 
"Today was an incredible match and we really have to give all the credit in the world to Union," head coach Johan Dulfer said following the match. "Union gave us everything we could handle. They swung with purpose, executed their game plan to perfection, and were just a tough well-coached unit. Today was everything that you hope for when you talk about matches within Liberty League play. It is always an immense challenge to go onto another team's home floor and pull out a victory. At the end of the day, I am so proud of the resolve our team played with and that we were able to come out on top."
 
Playing two matches less than 24-hours apart on the road is always a challenge and today proved to be no different. The Dutchwomen were sharp right out of the gates to take an early advantage in the match. Although IC was not terrible in the first set, it took a little while for the Bombers to get up-to-speed in the match, and Union capitalized with a .333 team hitting mark in the 25-19 set win.
 
The Bombers began to find their legs in the second game and their thunderous swings finally started to hit their marks. A couple early 3-0 scoring spurts, fueled with two kills apiece from sophomore outside hitter Reagan Stone and junior pin-hitter Taylor McCarthy, helped IC open up some separation midway through the game. While Union twice closed the deficit to a single point, another 3-0 run that featured a kill from senior middle Katie Evans and a service ace from first-year Jordyn Lyn Hayashi reestablished the gap. Ithaca saw out the set win to level the match, largely through the play of Stone, who registered three kills down the stretch, while Evans and junior setter Caitlyn Floyd notched kills for the Bombers final two points in the 25-20 win.
 
Ithaca continued its momentum in the third game, as Stone, Evans, McCarthy and sophomore outside hitter Sarah Jennison notched kills as part of a 4-0 scoring run that opened up an early 7-3 advantage. Although Union would close within two points, a 5-1 scoring spurt that was headlined by a pair of kills from sophomore middle Katie Basey reupped the lead to 13-7. Floyd continued to distribute evenly between her various attacking outlets down the stretch. Stone sealed the third set win with back-to-back kills to give Ithaca its first lead in the match.
 
The fourth set was one of the most exciting the Bombers have played yet this season, as the frame went to 12 extra-points to decide a winner. Fighting to extend the match, Union certainly gave everything it had, at one point widening its advantage to as much as 16-8. However, the Bombers whittled away at the deficit down the stretch with 3-0 and 4-0 surges, eventually knotting the game at 24-apiece when Hayashi registered a service ace.
 
IC had three chances to serve for the match in extra-points, but each time Union responded with the crucial point to stay alive. A 3-0 scoring run by the Dutchwomen eventually pushed the match to a fifth set, as Katie Moss delivered three successive kills for the home side.
 
Although the home side briefly swung the momentum in its favor, Union was unable to sustain its energy in the fifth game. The Bombers opened the frame with an early 5-1 scoring run that featured two kills from Stone and one scoring finish from McCarthy. A 3-1 scoring spurt that had kills from Floyd and Stone, as well as a service ace from senior Hailey Adler sent the Bombers to the side-swap leading 8-4. IC road McCarthy and Stone down the stretch with the former registering three straight points for the Bombers on kills and the latter registering her career-high 31^st of the match to put IC up 13-8. Jennison followed with a kill, while Ithaca sealed the match on a combo-block from Stone and Evans.
 
Writing another chapter in her push for more individual accolades, Stone turned in the best performance of her career in today's win. She finished with a monster double-double, setting new career highs with 31 kills and 19 digs in the contest. The St. Louis product would add one solo block, three block assists, finishing the game with a .311 hitting success clip.
 
McCarthy turned in her best performance of the season opposite Stone. She finished with 14 kills on .314 hitting and added one dig. Jennison continued to be a reliable source of offense as well, tallying eight kills on .188 hitting, while also chipping in four digs and one block assist. First-year Jaelyn Hershberger tallied one kill and one dig as well.
 
In the middle, Evans posted her finest performance of the season to-date. She marked 16 kills on .448 hitting success, while defensively she posted one solo block, three block assists, and one dig. Basey added three kills, two solo blocks, and two block assists on the day.
 
Floyd turned in another masterful performance at the setting spot. She marked a career-best 57 assists in the match, while she notched her second double-double of the season with 15 digs. The third-year talent also chipped in two kills, one service ace, and two block assists.
 
The backline continued to be paced by senior libero Tara Stilwell. She finished with 12 digs and seven assists. Hayashi finished the match with eight digs and a team-best three service aces. Adler amassed seven digs and one service ace, while sophomore Delaney Runyon tallied two digs.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Wednesday, October 10, when it plays host to RIT in a battle of Liberty League unbeatens. Start time at Ben Light Gymnasium is set for 7:00 p.m.