NEW PALTZ, N.Y. - On the second day of the New Paltz Invitational, Ithaca College took on both Williams College who was receiving votes in the latest AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll earlier this week and then Manhattanville in the nightcap. The Bombers put together a pair of sweeps as they won both their fourth and fifth-straight matches to improve to 10-3 overall.
VS. (RV) WILLIAMS (25-22, 25-19, 25-20)
The first set started off slow for the Bombers as Williams took an early 4-2 lead. However, the Bombers responded with kills from Faith Sabatier and Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu, and an ace from Peyton Miller made the score 6-5. Williams then quickly responded back with a multitude of blocks and kills from both Marit Hoyem and Sydney Eyestone. The momentum shift in the game came from first year setter Wesley Slavin, who had back-to-back dump offs and an ace that tied the score at 11-11. The first lead of the game for the Bombers came from a Faith Sabatier kill (12-11). A block from Jamie Koopman and an ace from Ella Graper made the score 18-14. From there, the Ithaca took control, and led in score for the rest of the set, which ended in a 25-22 score.
The second set also started off with an early 7-2 lead from Williams College. The Bombers stacked up a few points, but ultimately Williams kept momentum on their side of the court, leading 12-6. A block from Ella Graper and a kill from Gonzalez-Abreu advanced the score to 13-9. Miscommunications and technical errors from Williams gave Ithaca their first lead of the game (15-14). Impressive plays from the three freshmen occurred to spark IC: Naomi Clauhs, Wesley Slavin, and Gaby Gonzalez-Abreu, advanced the score to 21-18 in favor of the Bombers. The set ended in a dump off from Wesley Slavin (24-19) and a kill from Naomi Clauhs (25-19).
In the third set, again, Williams came out with an early 4-1 lead. The lead for Williams was consistent at 8-3 and 10-4, until the Bombers made their comeback. An ace from Wesley Slavin, and a kill from Gonzalez-Abreu allowed for the Bombers to pull away with an 18-15 lead. More kills from Naomi Clauhs and Jamie Koopman advanced the score to 21-18, and the set ended in a Faith Sabatier kill (25-20).
Another key factor for the Bombers was their aggressive backcourt. Both Julia Costa and Ellie Benedict were all over the floor, resulting in a total of 25 digs between the two of them.
VS. MANHATTANVILLE COLLEGE (25-15, 25-11, 25-14)
In the final game of the New Paltz Invitational, the Ithaca Bombers took on Manhattanville College. Throughout three sets, the Bombers completely dominated the Valiants.
Set one started in an early lead for Ithaca with a kill from Jamie Koopman and a block from Anaya Prince and Naomi Clauhs. Faith Sabatier and Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu both had nice kills to advance the score to 17-7. The set ended in a kill from Faith Sabatier, with a score of 25-15.
The second set was again dominated by the Bombers. They kept a consistent lead over the Valiants throughout this set, which allowed Coach Dulfer to rotate in some of the bench players. Again, the set ended on a Faith Sabatier kill (25-11).
The third set was more evenly matched to start. There were a few ties at the beginning, but the IC pulled away and advanced the score to 17-9. The set ended on a block, with a score of 25-14.
Similar to the previous match against Williams College, the backcourt of Ellie Benedict and Julia Costa were again able to combine for 25 total digs. Wesley Slavin had a total of 35 assists, and Faith Sabatier had 11 kills.
REACTION FROM HEAD COACH JOHAN DULFER
"Proud is an understatement in describing our effort today. We may have started slow in a few of the sets but we sure finished strong in all of them," Dulfer said. "Our serving was once again on point and everyone contributed on the court today which is reflective of the contributions we receive every day in practice. It was a great weekend to be a Bomber."
Ithaca College will host Eastern University in a non-conference matchup on Friday, September 29. First serve is slated for 5 p.m.
