HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The No. 15 Ithaca College women's volleyball team hit the road for the first time this season on Friday night when it traveled to Central Pennsylvania for the first of two days at the ASICS Invitational, hosted by Juniata College. The Bombers had a challenging ask on Friday night, as they took on the nationally-ranked tournament hosts in the feature match in front of a raucous crowd at Memorial Gymnasium. Unfortunately, it was not Ithaca's night, as third-ranked Juniata was able to secure the clutch points in a three-set match that was much closer than the final score line might have indicated. The loss drops Ithaca's record to 2-2 on the young season.
 
Friday night had all the makings of significant challenge for a youthful IC outfit that was hitting the road for the first time this season. Not only were the Bombers facing an experienced Juniata squad that returned several senior starters off of a Final Four club a season ago, but Ithaca also needed to contend with the emotions and energy of its first hostile environment of the season. All things considered, Ithaca answered the bell well, but as was the case during the opening weekend, the Bombers were prone to conceding some scoring runs that ultimately proved to be their undoing on the night.
 
From a statistical perspective, Ithaca was neck-and-neck with third-ranked Eagles. IC actually outpaced Juniata 36-to-35 in kills, while Juniata held just slim advantages of 40-to-37 in digs and 34-to-32 in assists. Two areas that proved to a bit troublesome were serve receive and blocks, the former looming large in a competitive opening set and the latter ultimately pushing the Eagles over the top in the decisive third frame.
 
"We have some serious lessons to learn and there's no better way to learn them than playing against great opponents," head coach Johan Dulfer said. "Tonight taught us important lessons about mindset. We are continuing to get better quickly and I am excited to translate those lessons to our play tomorrow."
 
Perhaps most encouraging for Ithaca was the debut of first-year outside hitter Noemi Talton, who made her collegiate debut on Friday after being held out of action for precautionary reasons during opening weekend. The stage certainly did not seem too large for the DeLand, Florida, product, as Talton notched a team-best nine kills on .375 hitting success in the match.
 
Sophomore Alison Lipton and junior Sarah Jennison also delivered strong strikes from the pins. Lipton had one of her most efficient outings of the young season in amassing seven kills on a .429 hitting clip, while Jennison tallied five kills on nine swings for a .444 success rate. The contributions helped offset an off night for junior right side Reagan Stone who was clearly a point of emphasis for the Juniata block. Stone was held to single digits in kills for the first time this season in marking only six finishes and 10 errors in 31 total attacks. First-year Camryn O'Leary also chipped in one kill in her lone set of action.
 
Production in the middle was hard to come by for the Bombers on Friday. First-year Jennifer Pitts was efficient despite seeing middle service. She finished with a team-best three kills from Ithaca's middles on six attacks, while she added one solo block and three block assists. Sophomore Monet Peoples and junior Katie Basey each notched one kill, while Basey also added a block assist.
 
Senior setter Caitlyn Floyd posted 29 assists, as well as two kills and Ithaca's only two service aces on the evening.
 
Ithaca's backline hung tough despite some tough conditions. Sophomore libero Jordyn Lyn Hayashi led the group with 11 digs, while first-years Grace Isaksen and Hannah Hughes recorded nine digs and four digs, respectively.
 
The opening set featured a strong start from the visitors, as Ithaca utilized 5-0 and 4-1 scoring runs to open up an 11-6 lead. Lipton, Jennison and Stone delivered kills during the initial surge, while Floyd and Lipton added kills to cap the second run.
 
Juniata pushed back with a 7-0 run of its own to pull ahead at the set's midway point; however, IC contended well with the momentum shift. Buoyed by the strong serving of Floyd, IC racked up a 5-0 scoring run to pull back ahead 16-13 and prompt Juniata to burn its first timeout of the set. Floyd marked both of her aces during the stretch, while Stone added a kill.
 
The two sides would answer each other back-and-forth down the stretch, but ultimately it would be serve receive that would be Ithaca's undoing late in the frame. Three service errors, which included two in the final four rallies of the set gift the hosts with some crucial points, while the Eagles took the opening frame on a service ace from Victoria Taylor.
 
Despite the disappointing end to the opening frame, Ithaca kept a good mindset when play resumed in the second set. Ithaca again got off to a fast start, racking up an early 10-6 advantage riding the block of Pitts and kills from Lipton on the outside. However, Juniata began to find the cracks in IC's defense and exploited them for seven kills through the middle portion of the set, powering a 10-2 scoring run that would prove to be decisive. Although the introduction of Talton into the lineup injected some life with three kills in the back half of the set, Juniata never really was threatened in a 25-18 win that gave the hosts a stranglehold on the match.
 
Sensing the finish, Juniata rode the wave of momentum to race out of the gates in the third set. The Eagles were relentless at the net, riding a surge of kills early, before clamping down with an impenetrable block to amass a commanding 18-11 lead. Ithaca did not back down, closing the gap to just a pair of points late in the set. Unfortunately, the mountain proved too difficult to climb with the Eagles sealing out the win down the stretch.
 
Ithaca will be back on the courts tomorrow morning with an 11:00 a.m. clash against Carnegie Mellon in a rematch of last year's NCAA Regional Final. The Bombers will conclude the day's action at 4:00 p.m. against Swarthmore.