Huntingdon, Pa. – The Ithaca College volleyball team fell in the second round of the NCAA tournament in three sets to Christopher Newport University on Friday evening.
The Bombers got out to a great start, taking a quick 3-1 lead in the first set with kills from
Maddie Cox,
Leila Chipepo and
Faith Sabatier. A kill from
Aleka Darko gave the Bombers a 4-2 lead, but the Captains took three consecutive points to take a 5-4 lead. Darko tied things up with a kill, but Christopher Newport got on the front foot with the next two points.
Both teams fought back-and-forth, with the Bombers closely trailing. IC brought the set to 11-10, but Christopher Newport won four of the next five points to build a 15-11 lead. Down 19-13, Chipepo smashed three-straight kills to get the Bombers back in the set.
Elli Gaskill caused trouble on the next serve to get make the score 19-17.
The Captains responded with a three-point run but kills from
Jennifer Pitts and
Faith Sabatier kept the Bombers close. Down 24-21, an ace by
Amanda Zweifler and a kill by Cox tied the set at 24-24. The Captains won the next two points, however and Christopher Newport took the first set 26-24.
In the second set, the Captains took the first three points before a service error got the Bombers on the board. Down 4-1, kills from Darko and Sabatier brought the Bombers within one. The Captains won the next point but kills from Darko and Sabatier contributed to a three-point swing that put the Bombers ahead 6-5.
Over the next ten points, both teams traded runs with three lead changes as the Captains led 11-10. Leading 13-12, the Captains went on a big 6-1 run to take a 21-13 lead. The Bombers fought back bringing the score to 22-17, but three-straight points closed out the set for Christopher Newport.
CNU got out to a quick 8-3 lead in third set. The Bombers responded with five of the next seven points to bring the score to 10-8, but the Captains regained its five-point lead with three consecutive points to make the score 13-8. Bothe teams traded the next nine points, making the score 17-13 in favor of the Captains.
Over the next 11 points, the Bombers fought all the way back to within two points. A kill by
Ella Graper ignited a three-point run to help bring the score to 21-19. Christopher Newport responded with a three-point run to bring the game to match-point, and eventually closed out the win.
REACTION FROM HEAD COACH JOHAN DULFER
I'm very proud of the season we had and the outcome of one match doesn't change that. The first set was a make or break one as it turns out and we played probably our best volleyball of the year that first set. When that didn't come our way because CNU played their best as well we struggled to regain our composure a bit. To have pushed to that point by a great opponent is really a good moment of reflection. We have so much to look forward to and our innocent climb has only started."
The Bombers bow out of the NCAA tournament in the round of 32, finishing an impressive season with a 25-5 overall record that included an undefeated run in Liberty League conference play and its first-ever Liberty League title.
