ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's volleyball tipped off a crucial stretch of Liberty League action on Wednesday evening when it hit the road to face defending league champion RIT. The Bombers rose to the occasion, besting the Tigers in three sets (25-20, 25-18, 29-27) to improve to 15-7 on the year and remain unbeaten at 5-0 in Liberty League action with two regular-season matches to go in league play.
 
The Bombers entered the evening looking to get off to a strong start to the week against and RIT squad that also is right in the thick of the Liberty League playoff conversation. IC posted a solid effort against the Tigers, holding considerable advantages in kills, 51-to-39, and hitting percentage, .252-to-.191, to pull out a grinding three-set battle on the road.
 
"Going on the road to face RIT is always a challenging proposition," head coach Johan Dulfer said. "They are the defending Liberty League Champions for a reason and are a very talented team. They also had their backs against the wall a little bit, so we knew we were going to get their best effort tonight. I'm really proud of how our team battled and pulled out a big result when we needed it."
 
Junior right-side Reagan Stone led the IC attack at the pins. She finished the night with a match-high 17 kills on a solid .237 hitting clip. The third-year talent added seven digs and one service ace as well.
 
Stone's classmate, Sarah Jennison, was also in prime form on Wednesday. She added a double-digit kill output with 10 kills on a scorching .391 hitting success rate, while she also posted three digs and one solo block. First-year Camryn O'Leary chipped in five kills and one dig, while sophomore Alison Lipton finished with three kills and three digs.
 
In the middle, first-year Jennifer Pitts once-again delivered an efficient performance offensively. She posted seven kills on .294 hitting. Sophomore Monet Peoples added a strong two-way effort with five kills on .333 hitting success, while also posted two block assists.
 
Senior setter Caitlyn Floyd was marvelous in her distribution, while her feel for the dump shot also scored some crucial points for the Bombers throughout the night. She topped the 40-assist mark for the ninth time this season, finishing with 42 in the match. Floyd added four kills (.333 hitting), while also adding three digs and two block assists, defensively.
 
The backline was keyed by sophomore libero Jordyn Lyn Hayashi, who again led the Bombers with a match-high 16 digs. She also added three assists. First-year Hannah Hughes posted six digs and two assists, while fellow rookie Grace Isaksen finished with six digs, one assist, and one service ace. Junior Delaney Runyon added one service ace in a specialist role.
 
Ithaca began the match on a little bit shaky terms, as the Tigers raced out to an early lead, riding the momentum from a rowdy home crowd. RIT's work from the service line kept the Bombers out of sync, as the hosts jumped out to a 7-2 edge. Ithaca would find its footing as the set continued into the middle section. It was Jennison that stabilized things for the Bombers, racking up four kills and a solo block during a 7-1 scoring surge for IC that lifted the visitors to their first lead.
 
The two sides remained in close proximity until IC rattled off another smaller scoring run to take control. Pitts posted three kills during a 4-0 run for the Bombers that helped IC jump ahead 20-16 late in the frame. Although the Tigers would the cut the deficit in half twice down the stretch, Ithaca closed out the set on a 3-0 run. Lipton and Jennison put the bookend on the run with kills, Jennison's scoring finish coming off a beautiful out-of-system play with a perfectly place ball inside the back-left corner.
 
"Our serve-receive was a little shaky early, but I thought we really did well to stabilize ourselves and calm those early nerves as the match continued," Dulfer explained. "We had some great camaraderie on the court and during our timeouts and kept our poise when we were pushed and came up with some big points when we needed them."
 
The second set followed a very similar script to the opening frame, as the Tigers jumped out to an early lead, before the Bombers delivered a strong counter push as the set continued. It was IC's sharpest set from an attacking perspective, as the Bombers posted a 15-kill set on scorching .387 hitting success.
 
The middle set turned during the middle section, as Ithaca rattled off runs of 3-0, 4-0 and 5-0 to build a comfortable lead. The first 3-0 run gave IC its first lead of the frame at 9-8 and was punctuated by a kill from O'Leary. The 4-0 surge lifted IC into a lead it would not relinquish for the duration of the game. Three Bombers notched kills during that stretch with Floyd, Peoples and Stone posting the finishes, while Isaksen added a service ace. The final 5-0 run effectively clinched things for IC, as two kills from Stone and additional kills from Jennison and Pitts widened IC's lead to 21-13. The Bombers easily saw out the remainder of the frame with O'Leary marking the clinching kill on a cross-court swing to seal the set 25-18 and the 2-0 lead in the match.
 
"Offensively, we were really sharp the majority of the night," Dulfer continued. "I think it really started from our work on the serve, as we kept RIT off-balance. Our attack really grew from there and I think we did a good job of taking what RIT was giving us with some nice tip-shots and roll-shots. It was a strong effort from our group."
 
The third set was the closest of the three and featured some significant scoring runs from both sides. Opposite of the opening two frames, it was Ithaca that actually jumped out to the early advantage, but RIT responded with a 9-2 scoring stretch to build a four-point edge at 13-9. Ithaca did not back down, delivering a 7-0 scoring surge to pull back ahead. Junior Delaney Runyon's serve powered the sequence as she whipped several great shots from the service line to keep Tigers out of sync. She notched one ace during the run, while Stone, Peoples and Pitts added kills during the surge.
 
With their backs firmly against the way, RIT did not go down quietly. The Tigers pushed back, eliminating the three-point edge down the stretch run of the frame to earn a set-point at 24-23. Both sides would stave off set-point opportunities by the other as the set entered extra points. Finally, Ithaca clinched the match with a 3-0 surge to ice the game. O'Leary posted a huge kill to knot the score at 27-27, while Stone later closed out the match with a thunderous kill down the middle as IC took the 29-27 set win.
 
Ithaca will be back in action on Friday, October 25, when it heads to Potsdam, New York, to take on league-rival Clarkson. Start time for the match is set for 4:00 p.m.