Geneva, N.Y.– The Ithaca College volleyball team traveled to William Smith College, defeating its Liberty League foes in a close 3-2 matchup on Tuesday, October 18. The Bombers went down 2-1 after the three sets, making a come-from-behind victory for its fourth-straight win in the Liberty League.
The Herons took an early lead in the first set, and the Bombers were trailing closely for most of the set. The Herons broke away to a 19-16 lead in the set before a kill by
Jamie Koopman sparked a nine-point run to win the set. The run also featured two kills from both
Leila Chipepo and
Aleka Darko. The Bombers totaled 16 kills as a team to build the 1-0 advantage.
The Bombers found themselves chasing the lead again in the second, but a five-point run by the Herons put the set out of reach to level the match. In the third set, the Herons got ahead to a 16-10 lead before the Bombers hit a seven-point run to take a 17-16 lead. Tied at 19-19, William Smih responded with a five-point run to do all but close out the set.
Down in the match, the Bombers won a thrilling fourth set to send the match into a fifth. The Herons won third five-point run of the day, taking a 10-5 lead early in the set. The Bombers chipped their way back, eventually taking a 15-14 lead. From there, the Bombers led until the Herons tied the set at 23-23. A kill by
Alexandra Montgomery set up match point for the Bombers, winning the set on an attack error.
The Bombers opened the fifth set with the first three points. The Herons provided some help with two attacking errors, but a kill from Chipepo helped to set the tone early. The Bombers controlled the set, with the Herons only getting back within one point in the set. With an 11-10 lead, Darko, Montgomery and
Camryn O'Leary helped close out the set 15-12.
Darko led all student-athletes with 18 kills in the match, while Chipepo added 12 kills and O'Leary had 11 kills.
Maddie Cox had 26 assists and
Peyton Miller chipped in 23 assists for the Bombers. Defensively,
Julia Costa had a great day with 25 digs. As a team they had five aces and 15 total blocks.
REACTION FROM HEAD COACH JOHAN DULFER
"I thought William Smith played an outstanding match. During the stretches that we were ahead we were siding out consistently near 70% and we manufactured some big kills. Our struggles from the service line haunted us at times but WS deserves a lot of credit for how tough they played. It was a fun environment to play in tonight. All in all, we didn't have a great day but when that happens, and you can pull your teammates through and earn a gutsy win you deserve a huge compliment. I'm a very proud of this team for the fight we showed tonight"
The Bombers earned its second straight comeback victory to move to 18–4 on the season. The Bombers are 4–0 in Liberty League play with a slate of four-straight conference games. The Bombers host Vassar College in Ben Light Gymnasium on Friday, October 21 at 7 p.m.
