NEW YORK, N.Y. – With a packed house in New York City, the Ithaca College volleyball team couldn't have imagined a better start to its season as they upset No. 4 ranked New York University (29-27, 25-17, 19-25, 25-20) on the first night of the NYU Season Opener Invitational. First year
Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu made an immediate impact pounding a team-high 15 kills, including six in the match winning fourth set.
VS. NO. 4 NYU (29-27, 25-17, 19-25, 25-20)
Gonzalez-Abreu hit .188 for the match (15-9-49) with 11 digs and a service ace. The Bombers were well rounded offensively with
Alexandra Montgomery totaling 10 additional kills followed by
Jamie Koopman and
Faith Sabatier who each totaled eight apiece. Momentum also swung in IC's favor thanks to four aces from
Ellie Benedict.
It was a back-and-forth opening set with neither team able to make a breakthrough until Ithaca rattled off five-straight points including a Benedict ace and Sabatier kill, which made it 22-17. NYU would fight back with six unanswered points of its own to go up 23-22, but the Bombers kept chipping away and were rewarded with a
Jamie Koopman kill that made it 28-27. The decisive point swung the Bombers way on an opponent attacking error.
The second set wasn't as competitive as the Bombers were on the forefront attacking with four big time kills that put them up 21-14, highlighted by a
Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu effort that saw them go up. IC earned the 2-0 advantage when
Julia Costa assisted an
Alexandra Montgomery kill.
The No. 4 ranked Violets didn't back down as they extended the match by rallying to win the third set, 25-19.
Neither team was able to muster more than a three-point advantage in the fourth set as an NYU service ace made it 16-16. They continued to trade points going to 20-20, but the Bombers surged behind back-to-back Gonzalez-Abreu kills, followed by a
Peyton Miller ace that made it 23-20. An attacking error and a bad set sealed it for Ithaca.
REACTION FROM HEAD COACH JOHAN DULFER
"What a fantastic atmosphere, and what an honor to be a part of this celebration by NYU. It was a wonderful evening opening their new court and gym, and it goes without saying that we are thrilled to walk away with a win," remarked Dulfer. "I think NYU is proud and has so much potential. They're only going to get better this year, to take away from them on their home floor feels fantastic and should fuel for us to realize we need to stay together and keep working this hard to hopefully match what we did tonight in future matches."
The Bombers will look to ride the momentum when take on another pair of strong opponents in Millikin University (10:00 a.m.) and Kean University (3:00 p.m.) in the newly opened John A. Paulson Center.
