POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's volleyball team made its return to the court on Friday night when it continued Liberty League action on the road for the first time in league play at Vassar. The Bombers kept its recent roll going with another dominant effort, easing past the Brewers in three convincing sets (25-17, 25-11, 25-17) to improve to 3-0 in Liberty League action and 12-5 overall.
 
Facing its first competition in 13 days following a scheduled bye week during the opening week of October, Ithaca certainly looked like a rejuvenated squad ready for the stretch run on Friday night. If there was rust it certainly did not show, as the Bombers blitzed the Brewers for 44 kills behind a blistering .306 hitting percentage. The performance not only helped IC extend its perfect league record, but it also extended the team's streak of not dropping a set in league play with the third straight straight-sets sweep.
 
It was Ithaca's pin-hitting duo of junior Reagan Stone and first-year Camryn O'Leary that paced the visitors on the night. Both players finished with a match-high 12 kills. Stone finished the evening with a scintillating .417 hitting percentage, while she added three digs and two block assists. O'Leary posted a .308 hitting success rate and added one block assist in the win. Complementing the outside attacking was junior Sarah Jennison, who delivered six kills and three digs.
 
First-year Jennifer Pitts continued to headline IC's attack through the middle. She had another highly efficient outing, producing nine kills on just 14 swings for a .571 hitting mark, while also contributing two service aces and one block assist. Sophomore Monet Peoples led Ithaca's defense at the net, finishing with three block assists and one solo block, as well as three kills offensively.
 
Senior setter Caitlyn Floyd was the maestro of Ithaca's humming attack, turning in her seventh double-double of the year in the process. She finished with 32 assists and 10 digs, in the process closing within 100 digs of moving into fourth-place on the program's all-time career assists list. Floyd also added two kills on four attacks and one block assist in the win.
 
The backline for Ithaca was once-again phenomenal, continuing to emerge as one of the team's strengths as the season heads into the second half. Pacing the Bombers outstanding 58-dig performance was sophomore libero Jordyn Lyn Hayashi and first-year defensive specialist Grace Isaksen. Both players finished the evening with 17 digs apiece, while Hayashi also added four assists and one service ace. First-year Hannah Hughes added six digs and one assist, while sophomore Laura Severance also saw action on Friday night.
 
Ithaca was sharp from the outset in the match, beginning the opening set with a 4-0 run and subsequently adding another 3-0 run a few rallies later to open up a comfortable five-point margin. Stone was the go-to option early with three kills, while the rookie duo O'Leary and Pitts each added one scoring swing in the opening sequence.
 
The Bombers broke things open with another 4-0 scoring surge that featured a kill and service ace from Pitts. Jennison added a kill as part of an overall 5-1 stretch that widened Ithaca's advantage to 14-6 midway through the frame. However, the Brewers did not fade quietly during the middle portion of the set. The home side roared back with a 6-0 scoring run as part of a larger 9-2 surge that shaved Ithaca's considerable lead to a single point at 16-15.
 
That would be the last of the positive vibes from the Brewers in the set. Ithaca earned a big side-out on a combo block from Peoples and Stone and proceeded to string together a 7-0 run to take firm control of the set. Hayashi's strong serving powered the run, while Stone continued her big opening set with two additional kills. The Bombers sealed the opening set a handful of rallies later on a powerful kill from Pitts.
 
The second set was pure domination from the Bombers. IC racked up 16 kills on a .387 hitting clip to easily pull away for a lopsided 25-11 win and a two-set lead in the match. Ithaca took control of the middle frame with a pair of 4-0 scoring runs early, before an 8-0 run blew things open. Peoples and Jennison powered that latter scoring run with two kills apiece.
 
The decisive third set got off to a bit of a slower start for the Bombers relatively speaking, as the Brewers jumped out to a modest 7-5 lead early. Ithaca responded with a 6-1 scoring run to pull back ahead into a lead it would not relinquish for the duration of the game. IC turned to its rookies and they certainly delivered, as Pitts and O'Leary combined for seven kills as part of a 9-2 scoring run that effectively sealed the match. Jennison added two kills down the stretch as the Bombers took the third set by a 25-17 margin.
 
Ithaca returns to the court tomorrow afternoon when it concludes its first Liberty League road weekend at Bard College. Start time for the match is set for 2:00 p.m.