Huntingdon, Pa. – The Ithaca College volleyball team rolled through the first round of the NCAA tournament, defeating Alfred State in three straight sets at Memorial Gym at Juniata College on Thursday afternoon. The Bombers advance to the second round to face Christopher Newport on Friday.
VS. ALFRED STATE (25-6, 25-16, 25-19)
The Bombers got out to a great start, taking an early 5-1 lead. Ellie Gaskill opened the set with a service ace followed by kills from
Jamie Koopman and
Faith Sabatier. Ahead 5-2, The Bombers went on a big seven-point run that featured two kills from Sabatier, one from
Aleka Darko and an ace from
Grace Isaksen to take a 12-2 lead.
The Pioneers got just one point back before the Bombers began its next run.
Amanda Zweifler ignited the six-point run with four service aces to extend the lead to 18-3. The Bombers continued to dominate, taking four of the next five points to take a 22-4 lead. Two kills from
Alexandra Montgomery gave IC a 24-6 lead, and Gaskill closed out the set with another service ace.
The Bombers again grabbed an early lead in the second set, going ahead 6-2 with two more kills from Sabatier, one from Darko, one from
Maddie Cox and another ace from
Grace Isaksen.
The Pioneers quickly got themselves back in the game with a four-point run to tie the set 6-6. The Bombers responded with a six-point run highlighted by kills from Montgomery, Cox and Koopman to take a 12-6 lead.
Ahead 12-8, two kills from
Leila Chipepo and two aces from
Maddie Cox contributed to a six-point run to extend the lead to 18-8. The Pioneers battled, taking five of the next seven points. The Bombers took points here and there, but two straight kills by Darko put the Bombers at set-point. A service error gave the Bombers the second set, taking a comfortable 2–0 lead in the match.
Kills from Chipepo and
Peyton Miller gave the Bombers a quick 2-0 lead in the third set, but a three-point swing by Alfred State gave the Pioneers a 3-2 lead. Both teams split the next ten points with the Pioneers holding an 8-7 lead. Two consecutive points gave the Pioneers a 10-7 lead.
Coming out of a timeout, the Bombers earned three consecutive points to tie the game at 10-10. The Pioneers took three of the next four points to regain its lead, 13-11. Down 14-13, the Pioneers made three straight attack errors in addition to a big block at the net by
Aleka Darko to give the Bombers a 17-14 lead.
The teams traded the next six points with the Bombers holding a 20-17 lead. Two kills from Chipepo gave the Bombers a 24-18 lead and a kill by
Camryn O'Leary sealed the win for the Bombers.
Leila Chipepo had a great day for the Bombers, leading all student-athletes with eight kills and adding two total blocks. Darko added seven kills with five total blocks. Zweifler caused the Pioneers trouble on the serve with four aces while Gaskill, Isaksen and Cox each had two aces. Defensively,
Julia Costa led all athletes with 14 digs.
REACTION FROM HEAD COACH JOHAN DULFER
"Anytime you see a team coming into the NCAA Tournament with as much momentum as Alfred State you know you're playing a confident opponent. I was happy to see our serving game appeared to rattle them a bit from the start. They struggled settling down and I thought our pin blockers did a good job taking away the right zones. This tournament is all about finding your rhythm. Today was a great step in that process. We are grateful to survive and move on."
The Bombers advance to the second round, where they face Christopher Newport in Memorial Gym at Juniata College at either 4:30 p.m.
