Highlights

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The 25^th-ranked Ithaca College women's volleyball continued its NCAA Tournament run on Thursday evening when play finally got underway at the NCAA Division III Championships' final site at Duquesne University's A.J. Palumbo Center. Facing perennial National Title challenger Emory in an NCAA Quarterfinal, the highly anticipated rematch was the marquee matchup of the first day of action on Thursday. Unfortunately, IC was unable to replicate its result from last season, as the Eagles snagged revenge in a hotly contested four-set match. The loss concludes Ithaca's season with a final record of 21-8, while Emory (28-6) moves on to face the winner of Thursday's final match between No. 6 Juniata and Wesleyan (Conn.) in tomorrow's NCAA Semifinal Round.
 
"First and foremost, I would like to give a lot of credit to Emory for a well-played match," head coach Johan Dulfer said. "Emory is a program that you really have to consider at the top echelon of Division III and head coach Jenny [McDowell] is a phenomenal leader and steward for that program. Tonight is certainly a bitter pill for us to swallow, but these past few years we have been right there with them and that is the trajectory that our program aims continue to be, competing at the highest level."
 
The turning point in tonight's contest really came down the stretch of the third-set, a period of the contest that ultimately was the biggest culprit in the Bombers' defeat. With the match tied at a one-set apiece, Ithaca held a 21-16 lead late in the third frame and carried all the momentum into what looked to be materializing into a two-set-to-one lead. However, everything came crashing down for IC in a stretch of struggling serve-receive. Emory raced back to finish the set on a 9-2 scoring run, stealing away a lead that looked to be signed-sealed-and-delivered for the Bombers.
 
Ithaca never recovered mentally from that deflating third frame. With lingering effects still on the minds of the Bombers heading into the fourth, Emory raced out to a 5-0 lead. Although Ithaca closed the deficit as close as 9-6, IC was never able to claw back into it following the slow start. The Eagles pulled away to seal the match with a 25-16 win that was nowhere near indicative how competitive the entire match was played as a whole.
 
"When you lead by that kind of margin and are above 20 it is a situation that you rarely let slip away, maybe once in a blue moon," Dulfer continued. "Unfortunately, tonight was that once-in-a-blue-moon moment for us. We just had to find a way to get that crucial side out, but ultimately we were unable to do so. We got caught in a difficult rotation for us and Emory capitalized with the chance. When you get to this point in the season, every team is talented and no lead is ever safe. The door was open for us and tonight we forgot to step through it. This is a lesson we will learn from and a step we are going to need to take to get to where we want to take this program moving forward."
 
From the outset, the match had the makings of a classic, as both teams fired on all cylinders out of the gate. Not much separated the two sides during the early portions of the first set, with Emory carrying a narrow 15-13 edge into the media timeout.
 
"I think one thing we really stressed in the preparation for this match was withstanding the surges that Emory was going to have," Dulfer explained. "We knew that they were going to come out firing with that extra-motivation and that it was going to be tough to contend with, but if we could hang around early things would be ok. I was pleasantly surprised that we really matched them from an intensity and execution standpoint during the early parts of that first set."
 
The Eagles were able to maintain that edge down the stretch of the first, but Ithaca did not go down quietly, setting the stage for what was to come. Trailing 24-20, the Bombers staved off three successive set-point chances for Emory to claw within a point. The crucial run came with a sparsely used serving option delivering some poised efforts in the clutch in first-year Jaelyn Hershberger. IC got a big kill from fellow first-year Alison Lipton, while junior setter Caitlyn Floyd made a gutsy solo stuff on Emory's Tara Martin to put IC in position to send the frame to extra-points. Unfortunately, Hershberger's final serve drifted inches over the end line to allow the Eagles to take the 25-23 win in the first and the early leg-up. Despite the set loss, IC was matching Emory kill-for-kill and block-for-block and used that confidence moving forward.
 
The second set started off with a flourish for the Bombers, as IC raced out to a 7-2 advantage in prompting an Emory timeout. Senior middle Amanda Cerruti and Lipton combined on a block to start the frame, while sophomore Reagan Stone tallied three of her match-high 14 kills during the stretch. Senior libero Tara Stilwell added a service ace to force that early timeout usage by the Eagles.
 
Emory regrouped following the slow start to the second and continued to make pushes in an attempt to level the set. However, each time the Eagles got within range, the Bombers came up with the clutch plays to keep the South Region Champion at arm's distance. Hershberger, Stone and Floyd each came up with clutch kills when needed to help IC maintain an edge into the middle portion of the game. A 5-1 surge, mainly keyed by senior middle Katie Evans' two kills, as well as finishes by Stone and Lipton, widened the lead back out to a comfortable 19-13 advantage.
 
Evans and Stone each added kills to put IC in position to seal the match; however, this time it was Emory that would not go down quietly. The Eagles strung together a 6-0 scoring spurt to close a seven-point Ithaca advantage to a single point at 22-21. It was a blossoming young talent that came up with the crucial response when the Bombers' desperately needed it, as Lipton drilled a crucial kill off the Emory block to get the much-needed side out and maintain the edge. Cerruti and Stone followed with a combo block to earn IC a trio of set-point chances. Although an attack error sent just wide of the left sideline by Stone kept Emory alive on the first chance, some strong out-of-system play by IC led to an Emory attack error that saw out the 25-22 win in the second, leveling the match.
 
The beginning of the pivotal third game was characterized by a series of scoring runs. Emory jumped out of the front foot with a 4-0, while Ithaca responded with 10 of the next 11 points, stringing together runs of six-points and four-points during the sequence. Lipton, Cerruti, Hershberger and Evans tallied kills during the sequence. Ithaca's block, which turned in one of its finest outings of the year, also got activated during the stretch. Stone tallied two block assists and a solo stuff during the stretch, while Cerruti and Evans each played the helping hand once on those combo blocks. First-year Jordyn Lyn Hayashi keyed the early portions of the surge with back-to-back service aces.
 
Emory again would respond to close within striking distance; however, each push was matched with some strong play by IC to maintain the advantage. This continued through the middle portion of the set, with the Bombers leading 21-16 after a kill from Hershberger. With Emory grasping for any momentum, they turned reserve server Kelsey Meins and the ploy worked. The Eagles rattled off five straight points, which included two service aces to level the frame at 21-all. Although Lipton briefly reestablished the IC lead at 22-21, another 3-0 run keyed by two service aces put the Eagles in position to steal the set. An Emory service error got the side out, but the Bombers were unable to extend the set, as Sydney Leimbach spiked a kill down the middle to clinch the momentum-swinging set 25-23.
 
The Bombers clearly never were able to fully put the sting of that third set behind them. Emory translated the momentum into a fast start in the fourth and never looked back.
 
Stone paced the Bombers with one of her best two-way efforts of the year. She notched 14 kills and a service ace, while she amassed eight digs, four block assists, and one solo block on the night. It was an impressive outing that brings to a close her outstanding second collegiate season.
 
Ithaca had to be encouraged what it received on the opposite pin as well. The Bombers rookie duo of Lipton and Hershberger shone brightly on the biggest stage of their fledgling collegiate careers. Lipton tallied eight kills and one block assist on the evening, while Hershberger delivered five kills, two digs, and one solo block.
 
Both playing in their final collegiate match, the senior duo of Evans and Cerruti in the middle also turned in a massive effort in the match. Evans had a match to remember on the big stage, posted 13 kills on .375 hitting success, while also delivering one dig and two block assists. Cerruti posted four kills and four block assists. The pair will surely go down as one of the best combinations the program has ever fielded on the interior.
 
Floyd once again was stellar on the evening. She tallied IC's lone double-double on the night with 39 assists and 11 digs. She also added four kills on .300 hitting, as well as one solo block and one block assist. It was a excellent performance by the Third Team All-American, who has now fully blossomed as one of the true stars at her position heading into her final collegiate season.
 
The backline was paced by a phenomenal performance by Stilwell. The senior libero racked up a match-high 24 digs, moving over 1,700 in just three seasons at IC. She will go down as one of the top libero's the program has ever fielded. In another encouraging sign of the future for the program, Hayashi delivered major contributions on the big stage. She posted eight digs and two service aces and certainly seemed well-suited to the pressure of the biggest match of her young career. Senior Hailey Adler also tallied eight digs on the night and added one assist playing in her final collegiate match. Sophomore Delaney Runyon posted one dig and posted solid serving on the evening.
 
Sadly, Thursday night brings the conclusion of the five IC careers. Joining Cerruti, Evans, Stilwell and Adler was senior middle Ruby Dyson.
 
Stay tuned to IC Athletics Website for more coverage on tonight's match.