GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Ithaca College volleyball team seized momentum in the first set but couldn't sustain it as they dropped a 3-1 affair this afternoon in the first round of the NCAA DIII Volleyball Championship (28-26, 13-25, 15-25, 12-25). The Bombers fell to the No. 8 ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater on Thursday in the NCAA regional that was hosted on the campus of Calvin University.

The Bombers opened the first round matchup on a three point run scoring the first point of the match with a Faith Sabatier kill, Jordyn Lyn Hayashi ace and a hitting error via the Warhawks. Morgan Wardall was able to get her team back into the match with three early kills as it was quickly tied 4-4. Another service ace by IC, this one from Paris Buckner saw her team go up 7-6. The first break in the action was an Ithaca timeout that saw the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater up 11-8.

After a strong stretch of play from the Warhawks, a block solo from Paris Buckner and a strong swing from Alison Lipton brought the score to 16-13 with the Bombers trailing. The gap shrunk after a nice kill from Jaelyn Hershberger that was assisted by Hayashi and the score was tied at 19 points apiece after a hitting error that forced Wisconsin-Whitewater into a timeout. The Bombers forced set-point at 24-22 and the set went into extras and back-to-back service aces by Paris Buckner saw them prevail and win 28-26.

The Warhawks used tempo to begin the second set and built an early 3-0 advantage, but that was quickly erased and a Jamie Koopman tip over the net tied it up at three points apiece. A nice swing and kill from Alison Lipton gave her team the 8-6 lead. A strong stretch of points in the middle of the set by the No. 8 ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater gave them the 15-11 lead. The Warhawks began to use their size advantage and Coach Johan Dulfer called a timeout with his squad trailing 20-13. Wisconsin-Whitewater used an 8-0 scoring run to tie the match.

In the third set, began with an early 2-1 lead for IC after a big block at the net from Jennifer Pitts. Back-to-back points from a Hershberger kill and Peyton Miller ace put the Bombers up 7-4. The Warhawks scored seven of the next eight points to gain their first lead of the match at 11-8. Wisconsin-Whitewater kept up the pressure out of a timeout and they built a 16-10 lead to force the Bombers final timeout of the set. The Warhawks took the third set by a 25-15 score.

Wisconsin-Whitewater used their size up front to build an early 7-3 advantage in the fourth set. They kept rolling as they had a 14-4 lead before a huge swing and kill from Camryn O'Leary gave the Bombers a point. The Warhawks ended up rolling and earned the win by taking the set 25-12 and eliminated Ithaca from the NCAA Division III championships.

Jaelyn Hershberger led the Bombers with 10 kills as the team finished with a .050 hitting percentage. Paris Buckner showed out with three service aces.

The loss concluded the 2021 season for Ithaca College who finished their season with a 16-14 overall record.