Volleyball 9/10/2022 9:35:00 PM

Volleyball Finishes 1-1 on Saturday; Make the Most of Pair of Five Setters

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Ithaca College volleyball team concluded play at the Asics Invitational on Saturday and played in a pair of five setters, coming out on top over Franklin & Marshall (25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 23-25, 15-11) and dropping a closely contested affair against Virginia Wesleyan (25-22, 18-25, 20-25, 25-15, 15-17).

VS. FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 23-25, 15-11)

The Bombers out-hit F&M in the first set by 12-9 margin. It was all IC early as they capped off a 7-0 run with a Maddie Cox service ace. Ithaca would extend its lead to 15-3 after a kill from Aleka Darko that was assisted by Cox. IC would use the momentum to gain set-point at 24-16 after a Diplomat attacking error. Ithaca eventually won when Faith Sabatier connected on a successful kill (25-19).
Despite going down 3-2, the Bombers rallied and went on a 10-5 run that was capped off by an Aleka Darko kill at the net that made it 12-8 in favor of IC. The Bombers forced a timeout leading 17-14 after an opponents bad set. There were four ties down the stretch and IC seized momentum with two straight kills (Alexandra Montgomery and Leila Chipepo) making it 23-21. The Bombers scored the final point of the set on a block at the net courtesy of Aleka Darko.
Ithaca established a 12-9 lead after an Alexandra Montgomery kill but the Diplomats went on a 8-1 run that was capped off by a Gianna Mangiamele kill. Play went back and forth towards the tail end of the set as it was tied 22-22, but Franklin & Marshall scored the final three points of the set.
The Bombers held a 22-20 lead in the fourth but were not able to put it away as the Diplomats capitalized on attacking errors to take the set at 25-23.
Ithaca played within itself in the fifth set and went up 10-4 after an F&M bad set. The Diplomats scored six-straight to tie it up at 10 points apiece, but IC scored five of the final six points including back-to-back kills from Ella Graper.

VS. VIRGINIA WESLEYAN (25-22, 18-25, 20-25, 25-15, 15-17)

Ithaca combined to hit .135 in the first set enroute to a 25-22 victory in the first set. They only struck for nine kills in the second set that saw them lose 25-18.
The Bombers went up 8-3 to begin the third set after a Grace Isaksen service ace. Virginia Wesleyan rallied to tie it at 10-10 as the middle set began a rally of back and forth play before the Marlins went up 23-18. They ended up taking the set on a service ace.
It was all IC in the fourth set as they took it 25-15. They quickly established momentum and were up 11-5 after an Isaksen ace. The Bombers would go on another 7-3 scoring spurt in the middle of the set that saw points from Ella Graper, Peyton Miller, and a kill by Alexandra Montgomery.
Ithaca led 8-7 as the team's traded sides of the court after an Aleka Darko kill. Points would then go back and forth as the score would them tie at 15 points apiece with a successful swing from Leila Chipepo. The Marlins capitalized on a service error and gained match point on a Taylor Paquette kill.

REACTION FROM HEAD COACH JOHAN DULFER

"I am very proud coach today. Win or lose, our goal is to get better and even though tonight was not our best; we surely got better. We had several breakthrough performances, and we took lots of chances. We talk about that all the time: putting it on the line and having no regrets. In the end if one or two balls that decide the result of a game don't fall our way like against Virginia Wesleyan, that doesn't diminish the incredible effort that we put on the court. When you fight side by side and come up short despite your best, honest and vulnerable effort, then you can't fail. I cannot wait to see where this journey may take us. We took a huge step forward today."

Ithaca (3-3) will return to action next weekend when they take on No. 7 Johns Hopkins (Sept. 16), No. 19 Susquehanna University (Sept. 17) and Christopher Newport (Sept. 17) in Selinsgrove, Pa.