By: Tori Drevna ‘27, Athletics Communications Student Assistant
ITHACA, N.Y. - The Ithaca College volleyball team will begin their 2023 season traveling to New York City for the NYU Invitational. They face No. 4 ranked NYU on Friday, September 1, which will be followed up with showdowns against Millikin University and Kean University on Saturday September 2.
The Bombers are coming off a strong 2022 season. Ithaca totaled an overall record of 25-5, captured its first-ever Liberty League title, and a made a second round appearance in NCAA Division III Championship. Most recently, the Bombers were ranked at first place in the preseason Liberty League poll, with seven total votes, tallying in at 63 points.
Johan Dulfer enters his ninth season as head coach for Ithaca College, along with the title of 2022 AVCA Region III Coach of the Year. While expectations for the program are high, Dulfer explains that rather than "defending" their Liberty League title, "aiming" for another one is the way to go about this season.
"I don't think that anyone is thinking about defending a title. All of them want one for this team," Dulfer said.
Aiming for another title means defeating teams within the league. Coach Dulfer mentioned some of the tough competitors that they could face throughout the Liberty League portion of their schedule.
"I expect William Smith and Clarkson to be strong. It's a deep league and every game will be fun and challenging," added Dulfer. "My expectation is that we will be experienced enough to be steady, but that we will also make some youthful mistakes. I think our ceiling is higher than it was last year, which is exciting."
The Bombers return a core of veterans and have brought in a pair of experienced transfers in
Ellie Benedict and
Anaya Prince to mix in with three first years. Senior
Julia Costa returns to the team this year with a plethora of honors from the 2022 season. She appeared on the AVCA Region III All-Region Team, received All-Liberty League First Team and was an ACVA All-American Honorable Mention Selection. Honor. Fellow senior
Alexandra Montgomery earned All-Liberty League Honorable Mention and rallied an impressive total of 231 kills in 102 sets last year. The team is also led by senior middle hitter,
Jamie Koopman, along with junior captain
Faith Sabatier.
Dulfer also puts an emphasis on how important preseason preparation has been.
"We had a very productive preseason and were able to get used to our system as well as add a few new wrinkles to our game that will be fun to see this year," Dulfer said.
Now that preseason has ended, competition is picking up, and it starts in New York City. On the schedule for the Bombers are three regionally ranked teams, including one of the top teams in the country.
"I always say to be the best you have to play the best and at Ithaca that's what we do every year," added Dulfer.
Ithaca will take part in the MIT Invitational (Sept. 8-9) where they will take on Endicott College, Keene State and the No. 10 ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They then will travel to crosstown rivals SUNY Cortland for a match on Tuesday, September 12.
The team will host their first home game during the Bomber Invitational on Friday, September 15. Teams attending this tournament will be SUNY Geneseo, Susquehanna, and No. 9 ranked Johns Hopkins University.
All Ithaca College home games will provide live statistics and webcasts to viewers. Links are available on the
volleyball schedule. Game programs will also be posted to the schedule ahead of each home contest.
