ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College volleyball program won its first-ever Liberty League Championship in a five-set thriller against Clarkson University on Saturday afternoon. Down two sets to one, the Bombers won the fourth and fifth set to claim the title in front of the electrifying Bomber faithful.
A highly contested matchup, the Bombers had lost to Clarkson in each of its previous four Liberty League tournament appearances, three losses in the finals and one in a semifinal matchup. This also marked the first conference championship for Ithaca College since the 2016 season when they won the Empire 8 Championship.
VS. CLARKSON UNIVERSITY (17-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-23, 15-12)
The Golden Knights won the first two points of the game from attacking errors by the Bombers. Two consecutive kills from
Camryn O'Leary quickly erased the deficit. A block from
Aleka Darko and an ace from
Grace Isaksen gave the Bombers a 5-3 lead. With the Bombers leading 10-8, the Golden Knights flipped the game on its head, scoring seven-straight points to take a 15-10 lead.
An ace from
Julia Costa and a kill from Darko contributed to a three-point run to get the Bombers within two points The Golden Knights responded with a four-point run of its own to reclaim its big lead. The Bombers could not manage a late-run and Clarkson took the first set.
The Golden Knights again took the first point of the second set, but a big-time kill from
Camryn O'Leary tied things at 1-1. Clarkson won three consecutive points to take a 4-2 lead, but a block from Darko and a kill from
Leila Chipepo tied the set at 4-4. The Bombers responded to a three-point run from Clarkson with a five-point run of its own to take a 10-8 lead.
At 10-9, the Bombers went on a four-point run with kills from Chipepo, O'Leary and
Jennifer Pitts and an ace by
Peyton Miller to take a five-point lead. The Golden Knights chipped away at the lead bringing the set to 20-17 after a back-and-forth stretch. Ahead 21-18, the Bombers went on a big four-point run to take the second set 25-18.
The Bombers got out to a slow start in the third set trailing 5-2 in the early going, giving Clarkson some help with two communication errors. A five-point run gave the Golden Knights a big 11-4 lead.
Ella Graper was subbed on and immediately earned a kill and a block to make the score 11-6.
Both teams traded the next 10 points, making the score 17-11. Clarkson earned a three-point run to take its biggest lead of the day at 20-11. Consecutive kills from
Alexandra Montgomery and
Maddie Cox contributed to a three-point tun to make the score 20-14. Down 23-16, The Bombers earned three consecutive points with a kill from O'Leary, an ace from Costa and a block by Darko. The Golden Knights responded with two-straight points to take the third set 25-19.
Both teams battled out of the gate in the fourth set with five lead changes in the first 10 points. Tied 6-6, a kill from Cox sparked a five-point run to take an 11-6 lead. Ahead 12-8, The Bombers went on a two-point swing to grab a six-point lead.
The Golden Knights tried to chip away at the lead, but the Bombers held its ground. Ahead 18-13, IC went on a 3-0 run to extend the lead to 21-13. The Golden Knights quickly responded with a three-point run of its own to bring the set to a 21-17 score. A close call by the official went the Bombers way to halt the run and two consecutive kills from Graper and Chipepo brought the score to 24-18. Clarkson showed its grit and fought all the way back to 24-23 with a five-point run, but a net violation gave the Bombers the set, 25-23, forcing the match to a fifth set.
Clarkson had an early edge in the fifth set, but two kills from
Leila Chipepo tied the set 2-2 and a huge block by Darko gave the Bombers the lead and had the crowd on their feet. Tied 4-4, Darko earned a kill to put the Bombers ahead. The Golden Knights responded with three straight points to reclaim its lead, 7-5. Down 8-6, Graper earned a kill to spark a huge four-point run, and the Bombers took the lead back, 10-8.
Clarkson responded with two consecutive points to tie the set at 10-10. Both teams traded the next four points to a 12-12 tie. Darko and O'Leary came up with two massive kills to make the score 14-12 and send the game to match point. An attack error by Clarkson finished off the set and gave the Bombers its first ever Liberty League Championship.
REACTION FROM HEAD COACH JOHAN DULFER
"Clarkson always have good game plans when they play us, and tonight was no different. This win for us is a testament to how deep our roster is. Amidst a lot of pressure, we brought in a spark off the bench and I'm just so proud of how that worked out. This team is never out - there's always a solution and they play for each other. All year long we've given to the process and to see it pay off today is just so gratifying. I'm so happy for the team that they get to experience the fruits of their sacrifices. To say that we're proud of them is the understatement of the year."
It was a team effort for the Bombers to clinch the title.
Camryn O'Leary,
Leila Chipepo and
Aleka Darko each had 12 kills and
Alexandra Montgomery earned 10 more.
Peyton Miller and
Maddie Cox each provided 23 assists apiece for the Bombers, and each had one serving ace.
Julia Costa led the Bombers with 22 digs and five others had at least five digs. Darko and Graper were a force at the net, getting five total blocks and three solo blocks, respectively.
Ithaca will now wait and see where they are seeded in the 2022 NCAA Division III Tournament. The selection show will take place at 1 p.m. on Monday, November 7. The selections and bracket will be released on
NCAA.com.
