ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Ithaca College volleyball team returned to action on Saturday for a pair of non-conference tune-ups as they were victorious over both SUNY Brockport and Nazareth College. The Bombers have now won nine in a row and improve to 12-3 overall.
VS. BROCKPORT (28-26, 26-24, 25-17)
- The Bombers first traveled to Brockport, where they defeated the Golden Eagles in three sets. The Bombers came out victorious in a back-and-forth first set, winning 28-26. Down 26-25, junior Alexandra Montgomery and first year Leila Chipepo earned back-to-back kills to take the lead before they closed out the set.
- The Bombers again won a close second set by a score of 26-24, fighting off a late comeback from the Golden Eagles in the set. A 10-1 run early in the third set gave the Bombers a big lead, and they were able to cruise to a victory over Brockport.
- Montgomery led the Bombers with nine kills. Senior Grace Isaksen and junior Julia Costa were great defensively, collecting 13 and 16 digs respectively.
VS. Nazareth (25-14, 23-25, 25-22, 30-28)
- The Bombers then traveled to Nazareth, where they defeated the Golden Flyers in four sets. The Bombers got out to an early 6-0 lead in the set and never looked back, winning the opener by 25-13 score.
- The Golden flyers took the second set by a score of 25-23 to even the match. The Bombers bounced back, taking a close third set 25-22. They were tested in both sets as the opponents traded scoring runs.
- In the fourth set, junior Jamie Koopman earned a kill to tie the set at 25-25. The Bombers and Golden Flyers went back-and-forth until the Bombers took a 29-28 and then sophomores Aleka Darko and Faith Sabatier ended game with a block.
- Aleka Darko led the team with 14 kills, and Koopman earned 11. Sophomore Peyton Miller had 40 assists for the Bombers.
REACTION FROM HEAD COACH JOHAN DULFER
"I immediately had to complement our team on how they handled almost all of the "big" points today. Most of our sets today were decided by only a few points and in those big moments we continue to shine. We expected this weekend to be a true test in a lot of different ways. Our opponents were tough, and ready for us. And the gyms we played in presented challenges too. I thought that we handled our composure well when it mattered. Grinding out a good result in difficult circumstances is not easy and we are learning every time we're in this situation. I'm very proud of how we handled things today."
Next up, the Bombers will return to Liberty League action when they travel to Skidmore College for a 6 p.m. match on Friday that will then be followed up by a home match on Saturday, October 8 against Union College at 2 p.m.
