ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College volleyball team got back to its winning ways on Friday night, October 8 with an emphatic 3-0 sweep of Skidmore College, 25-5, 25-13, and 25-16, at Ben Light Gymnasium. The Bombers upped their record to 10-8 on the season and are now 3-0 in Liberty League play. With the loss, the Thoroughbreds drop to .500 at 9-9.
 
IC won the battle at the net, piling up 14 blocks and having six players combine for 39 kills in the match. Additionally, Ithaca generated a .338 hitting percentage on the floor – a mark that goes down as the third best this season. The Bombers have now won seve- straight matches over Skidmore, dating back to 2014.
 
Offensively, Faith Sabatier did a little bit of everything for Ithaca. The first year continued to flash her potential, culminating a team-high 13 kills along with four digs and four aces on a .391 hitting percentage. Sophomore Jamie Koopman boasted a formidable offensive attack in the middle, racking up nine kills and three blocks on a .429 hitting percentage. First year Alexa Darko chipped in with eight kills on an ultra-efficient .500 hitting percentage, which led the team.
 
Head coach Johan Dulfer's squad was lights out in the opening set after jumping out to a 14-4 lead and never looking back. Buoyed by a potent offensive attack, the Bombers rattled off a 6-0 run to finish off the set with a 25-5 victory.
 
Ithaca did not take its foot off the gas on the ensuing set as they quickly rumbled to an 11-1 lead behind a splendid 10-point run. From that point on, the Bombers continued to pull away to secure a 25-13 win. Sabatier helped orchestrate the effort with five kills in the set.
 
Both teams were neck-and-neck in the early stages of the third set, however, as the score was deadlocked at 8-8. That's before IC sparked a 10-2 run to go up 18-10. Koopman put an exclamation point on the match by notching the game-clinching kill. The unit finished strong, registering 13 kills and four service aces in the final set.
 
Ithaca College will flip the script and focus its attention on Union College when the team welcomes the Liberty League opponent to Ben Light Gymnasium tomorrow afternoon, October 9. First set is slated to begin at 2 p.m.