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ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's volleyball team is set to get the ball rolling on the program's 22^nd all-time NCAA Tournament appearance this coming weekend when the program heads back to Potsdam, New York, for the Regional Rounds at Clarkson University's Alumni Gymnasium. The Bombers will open their tournament at 3:00 p.m. against Morrisville State on Friday, November 15.
 
Opening Match Info
#2 Ithaca (18-10; Liberty League Runner-Up) vs. #7 Morrisville State (23-7; NEAC Champions)
Date: Friday, November 15, 2019
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Alumni Gymnasium | Potsdam, N.Y. (Clarkson University)
 
Potential Second Round Match
*If Ithaca should win Friday's Match*
#2 Ithaca vs. Winner of #3 Wesleyan (20-4; NESCAC Semifinalist) vs. #6 St. John Fisher (23-10; Empire 8 Champions)
Date: Saturday, November 16, 2019
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Location: Alumni Gymnasium | Potsdam, N.Y. (Clarkson University)
 
Potential Regional Championship Match
*If Ithaca should win both Friday and Saturday Matches*
#2 Ithaca vs. Advancing Team (#1 Clarkson, #4 Wellesley, #5 Brockport, #8 Westfield State)
Date: Sunday, November 17, 2019
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Alumni Gymnasium | Potsdam, N.Y. (Clarkson University)
 
Live Coverage
Live Stats | Watch | Twitter | Regional Portal | Media Notes (PDF)

Ticket Info
All-Session Pass
$12 - Adults
$10 - Students
$7 - Children

Single-Session Pass
$6 - Adults
$4 - Students
$3 - Children
 
Weekend Match Notes
Setting the Stage
The Bombers are back in the 64-team NCAA Tournament field for the fifth consecutive year. Firmly entrenched on the proverbial NCAA Tournament bubble heading into Monday's selection show, Ithaca did not have to wait long to learn that its tournament dreams would come to fruition. The Bombers snagged an at-large bid for a third straight year, sending the team back to Clarkson University for a second consecutive weekend.
 
Extending the Streak
With Monday's announcement, Ithaca extended its streak of NCAA Tournament appearances to a fifth consecutive season. It is the longest streak for the program since a nine-year run from 1993-through-2001. If all goes according to Ithaca's hopeful plan this weekend, the Bombers will look to extend their streak of NCAA Regional Championships to a third straight year – a feat that has never been accomplished in the 51-year history of the program.
 
Last Time Out
Ithaca played its grittiest match of the season during its last outing on the court, which occurred last Saturday in the Liberty League Championship against Clarkson University. The Bombers and Golden Knights battled in a marathon five-set gauntlet – three of the sets extending into extra-points, including the decisive fifth frame – in search of the Liberty League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Although Ithaca posted hefty advantages in kills and digs, it was the host Golden Knights that ultimately prevailed in the fifth-frame 20-18, staving off three IC match-points to take the Liberty League title.
 
Three All-Liberty League Selections
The Liberty League announced its year-end awards on Wednesday morning and three student-athletes represented IC in the annual release. Headlining the announcement were senior setter Caitlyn Floyd and junior right side Reagan Stone who both were selected to the All-Liberty League First Team for a third consecutive season. The duo became the first duo to achieve the feat in the recent history of the program, while the last player to earn First Team recognition for three straight years was 2018-graduate Joelle Goldstein who did so during IC's final three years as an Empire 8 affiliate. Sophomore outside hitter Alison Lipton rounded out the All-Liberty League awards, earning an Honorable Mention nod for her first career honor.
 
Floyd Among Nation's Best
For the season, Floyd was the far-and-away leader in the Liberty League among setters. Her 1,120 helpers were nearly 200 more than her next closest counterpart – St. Lawrence's Jenna Britton (924) – while her per-set average of 11.31 not only represents a new career best, but is also nearly 1.5 assists per set better than the next closest mark achieved by Brianna Ellis of RIT (9.92 per set). Nationally, Floyd's assists per set average is third-best in the country, trailing just Lexi Wall of St. Olaf (11.69) and Carlie Craycraft of Otterbein (11.38). Floyd's 1,120 total assists are 22nd-most in the country this season; however, she has played the lowest number of sets of anyone within the Top-34 players in the country.
 
Stone Among Best in Country
Stone also paced the Liberty League by a fairly sizeable margin in many of the key relevant statistics. She leads the Liberty League in kills (474), kills per set (4.65), points (541.5), and points per set (5.31). Stone also ranked within the Top-10 in blocks per set with 0.54 and hitting percentage .243. Nationally, Stone also ranks inside the Top-10 in the country in several key statistics. She is fourth in the nation in kills per set (4.65), third in points per set (5.31), and 12th in total kills (474).
 
Familiar Surroundings
Ithaca is certainly no stranger to the surroundings that will accompany them when they travel to Clarkson this season. Not only will it be the third time that the Bombers have made the trip to the North Country this season, but it will be the seventh time IC has played matches inside Alumni Gymnasium since the beginning of the 2015 season. It is the third time in five seasons that Ithaca has traveled to Clarkson for NCAA Regional Rounds during that span. The Bombers have been no stranger to success at the venue when it comes to NCAA play. The Bombers are 4-1 in NCAA contests played at Clarkson over the past five seasons, a stretch that included a perfect 3-0 mark en route to the team's first of back-to-back Regional Championships in 2017.
 
Scouting Morrisville State
The Mustangs enter the weekend with a 23-7 overall record. Morrisville State earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season, besting Penn State-Abington 3-0 in the NEAC Championship Match this past Sunday. The team is certainly no stranger to the NCAA Tournament with many of the program's key components present for each of the past two postseason campaigns. The Mustangs are led by a dynamic hitting combination at the pins in seniors Megyan Merrill and Amelia Baratier.
 
Merrill is the engine that powers Morrisville's attack, as she leads the team with 523 kills and a sensational .301 hitting success rate for the season. Nationally, she leads the country in kills per set (5.18), while she is fifth in the country in total kills. The senior also has a track record of rising to the occasion on the big stage. She registered 18 kills, eight digs and two service aces in an impressive showing during the Mustangs' four-set defeat to Carnegie Mellon in the Opening Round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

Baratier is no slouch herself, ranking second on the team with 320 kills and 33 service aces. She has 18 double-digit kill outings to her credit this season. First-year Brianna Gates also adds a significant presence to the group outside, as she also has amassed over 200 kills this season, entering the weekend with 205.
 
The Mustang's most consistent middle presence is junior Kirsten Florio. The third-year talent has racked up 260 kills this season, while she leads the team with 65.0 total blocks (18 solo blocks, 47 block assists).
 
Morrisville has two capable setters, both of which are new first-year players this season. Siobhan Moore is the slightly stronger half of that group, racking up 696 assists and 33 service aces on the year. Hannah Taylor has posted 539 assists and 22 service aces in 13 less sets played this year.
 
Senior libero Sam Wolf keys the backline. She leads the team with 595 digs on the year.
 
Although you cannot gain significant insight into the similar opponents, there has been some crossover in terms of similar opponents played between Morrisville and Ithaca. The Mustangs have played contests against Vassar (twice), St. Lawrence and Wesleyan this season. They have posted a 1-3 record in those four matches with the lone win coming in the second of two matches against the Brewers. For comparison, Ithaca has gone 3-0 in such matches this season.
 
All-Time Series (W-L)
The following is Ithaca's all-time record against potential opponents it might face this weekend.
vs. Morrisville State (First Meeting)
vs. Wesleyan (3-0)
vs. St. John Fisher (35-11)
vs. Wellesley (5-4)
vs. Brockport (66-24)
vs. Clarkson (27-8)
vs. Westfield State (First Meeting)
 
Ithaca boasts a 2-2 record against teams in the NCAA Regional pod this season. IC has scored regular-season wins against both Brockport (W, 3-0) and Wesleyan (W, 3-2), while the Bombers dropped both prior meeting against Clarkson (L, 1-3, L, 2-3) this season.