PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Ithaca College women's volleyball team was back on the court for its final road trip of the regular-season on Friday evening when it made the trip to Providence, Rhode Island, for a non-league tilt against 23^rd-ranked Johnson & Wales. Although the Bombers played one of their finest matches of the season, it was the Wildcats that would prevail in a highly entertaining five-set match (18-25, 25-19, 25-23, 20-25, 15-10). The loss drops IC's record to 16-9 on the year.
 
"I'm very proud of how we battled in tonight's match," head coach Johan Dulfer said. "We knew tonight's match would not be easy. Johnson & Wales is an incredibly talented team and they were honoring their senior class that has been one of the finest to come through the program. I thought we matched them point-for-point all night, but just were unable to pull out a few crucial points in the fifth set that was the difference."
 
It certainly was a coming of age match for the Bombers this evening. Ithaca played poised and purposeful all night against a Wildcat squad that has ranked among the nation's elite over the past several seasons. Ithaca's offense was sharp for the majority of the evening, steadily improving in hitting success over the first four sets, which included .300-plus hitting rates in both the third and fourth sets. IC finished the evening almost dead-even or slightly better than Johnson & Wales in most counting stats. Unfortunately, the difference was late in the fifth set, as the Wildcats backline made several key digs to stymie IC attacks to limit the Bombers to a .095 hitting rate in the final frame.
 
"I thought we delivered a very poised and mature effort this evening," Dulfer continued. "We responded when we were pushed and showed a lot of positive things that we can take moving forward. Although we are disappointed to not score the final result we were hoping for, we should take a lot of confidence from our performance tonight."
 
Four Ithaca players hit double-digits in kills on the night, which included three pin-hitters. Sophomore Alison Lipton continued her strong finish to the season with another monster effort. She was one-kill shy of tying her season and career high, registering 17 kills on .275 hitting success, while also adding six digs and one block assist. Junior Reagan Stone posted 16 kills on a .229 hitting clip, while also notching her sixth double-double of the year with 11 digs and four block assists. First-year Camryn O'Leary rounded out the trio outside with 12 kills on .313 hitting success, while also delivering six digs.
 
The middle was keyed by a big performance from first-year Jennifer Pitts who continued to establish herself as one of the top up-and-coming middles in the region. She registered her sixth double-digit kill outing of the year, finishing with 10 on .279 hitting success. She would stuff the stat-sheet defensively as well, amassing seven digs and seven total blocks on one solo and six block assists. Aiding the effort in the middle was junior Katie Basey and sophomore Monet Peoples. Basey posted three kills and three block assists, while Peoples added two kills and one block assist on the night.
 
Senior setter Caitlyn Floyd inched closer to the 4,000 career assist milestone with another huge effort. She finished with 47 in the match, while also adding three kills. Defensively, she nearly notched the double-double, finishing with nine digs, while also adding a season-best five block assists.
 
The backline was keyed by another 20-plus dig performance by sophomore libero Jordyn Lyn Hayashi. The second-year product finished with 25, while also adding seven assists on the night. First-years Hannah Hughes and Grace Isaksen also finished in double-digits for the statistic, posting 12 and 10 digs, respectively. Both rookies would also add a service ace. Sophomore Jaelyn Hershberger chipped in five digs to round out the stat-sheet.
 
It was a fast start for the Bombers on the evening, as IC utilized a red-hot start to snag the opening set. The Bombers began the match on a 9-2 run, which included a 6-0 stretch that featured two kills from O'Leary, a service ace from Hayashi and a combo block from Pitts and Stone. Although Johnson & Wales closed the deficit within two points, a subsequent 6-1 scoring run for IC widened the margin out to a set-best eight points at 19-11. Stone posted a kill and combo block with Basey during the run, while Pitts added a solo block during the stretch. Lipton marked two kills down the stretch to help the Bombers clinch the set 25-18.
 
The second set featured another quick start for the Bombers; however, the Wildcats began to find their legs as the frame continued. The hosts pulled ahead for the first time midway through the frame, before a 7-1 run pushed the hosts ahead by a comfortable margin at 22-17. The gap proved too difficult to bridge, as Johnson & Wales leveled the match at 1-1 with the 25-19 set win.
 
The third set was perhaps the most compelling of the entire match, as both sides delivered counter blows in a slugfest of a third frame. Not much separated either side through the first 20 rallies, but IC began to gain a little separation with a 5-1 scoring run that opened up a 14-10 lead. The Wildcats punched back with a 6-1 run of their own to pull ahead at 16-15. Neither side strung two points together over the ensuing stretch until IC finally broke the string with back-to-back points to snag a 22-21 lead late in the set. After a Johnson & Wales' timeout, the Wildcats took advantage of a key service error to level the score, before pulling back ahead on a kill from Kate Walker. Although IC tied the score at 23-all, the hosts took the final two points on a kill from Amanda Koch and a combo-block from Kelly Delaney and Kate Walker to nab the momentum-swinging third set 25-23.
 
Ithaca showed incredible resolve to battle back with its back firmly against the wall to begin the fourth. Again it was an early-set surge for the Bombers that lifted the visitors to the early lead. Pitts posted two kills and a block assist during a 7-0 scoring run that helped the Bombers open up a 9-4 lead. Although the Wildcats bounced back to close the margin to just one point two separate times, IC strung together 4-0 and 3-0 runs down the stretch. Pitts posted three kills across the two runs to help Ithaca open up a comfortable lead at 22-16. Lipton notched two kills and O'Leary added the clinching scoring finish with a drop shot inside the back line to send the match the distance.
 
Again Ithaca's heart shown through in the fifth set. The Bombers eliminated two three-point deficits during the early portion of the frame to take an 8-7 lead to the cross-over. Unfortunately, IC ran out of steam late. The Wildcats closed out the grueling win with a 7-1 scoring run.
 
Ithaca returns to the court tomorrow afternoon when it wraps the two-match road trip in Middletown, Connecticut, at No. 20 Wesleyan. Start time for the match is set for 12:00 p.m.