ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College volleyball team, winners of back-to-back Liberty League Championships, is set to return to the court on Friday, kicking off the 2024 campaign at the Springfield College Invitational. The Bombers enter the season with a blend of veteran talent and newcomers, aiming to steadily improve and peak during postseason play.
 
"Our goal and theme for the year is constant improvement—striving for more," said head coach Tara Stilwell. "One of our biggest talking points with the team this preseason has been that we're good, but we can always be better. Success is earned, not given. Just because there is a history of success in this program doesn't mean it'll just happen."
 
Ithaca will be seeking its ninth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship tournament and will have a new leader at the helm in Tara Stilwell, an alumna who returns to the program after the past year as an assistant coach at nearby Cornell University.
 
"I'm excited to be back here on the South Hill," said Stilwell. "I'm lucky enough to once again be working with some of the upperclassmen that I had a hand in recruiting as they've been able to help me set the tone and standards to build and foster a new culture of growth and continued development."
 
Among the notable returners is two-time AVCA All-American Julia Costa, who returns for her graduate season. The libero collected the second-most digs (424) and third-most digs per set (3.89) in the Liberty League conference in 2023. She's amassed 1,209 digs across her four-year collegiate career and will likely etch her name into the program's record book with another strong season.
 
Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu joined Costa on the AVCA All-American Honorable Mention Team during the 2023 campaign after an excellent debut. Gonzalez-Abreu was both the Liberty League Rookie of the Year and Region III Freshman of the Year. She was the top hitter for the Bombers, finishing with a team-best 336 kills and 3.81 kills per set.
 
IC also possesses two dangerous and productive setters in junior Maddie Cox and sophomore Wesley Slavin, each providing the team with different looks in their swings and attacks. Cox has totaled 1,143 career assists, including 499 last season, and brings a strong presence at the net with 118 career kills and 48 blocks. Meanwhile, Slavin dished out the most assists (564) during the 2023 season, recording 20 or more on 15 occasions, including a season-high of 57.
 
In the middle, the Bombers are expecting both Ella Graper and Anaya Prince to replace the production of Region III Player of the Year and Second Team All-American Jamie Koopman.
 
"Anaya has really put in the work last spring and over the summer, I'm expecting her to have a huge impact replacing Jamie's production," said Stilwell. "Ella is going to be awesome, she has gotten better every season, and I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up amongst the top blockers within our league this season."
 
Prince totaled 46 kills a season ago along with 35 blocks, which was the third most on the squad. Graper led the team with 73 blocks, which ranked sixth in the conference, including 31 solo blocks.
 
Other notable returnees include Ellie Benedict, Naomi Clauhs, Faith Sabatier, Samantha Klemm, and Peyton Miller. Benedict finished second on the team in digs, totaling 317 during the 2023 season. She, along with Peyton Miller, is also dangerous at the service line, finishing one-and-two on the team with 52 and 44 aces apiece, respectively.
 
Sabatier was the third-best hitter from a season ago, totaling 246 kills across 94 sets played. She, along with Naomi Clauhs (187 kills), will be expected to produce from the pins. Samantha Klemm, formerly an outside hitter, has transitioned to a defensive specialist where she has received the ball well in the past, totaling 213 digs, including 135 last year.
 
"I'm excited for the potential of this first-year class as they have a very solid foundation of skill and they'll just need to adjust to the speed of the collegiate game," said Stilwell. "Brianna Owen should provide an immediate impact and I can hopefully see Jayden Wiese or Zoe Strachan stepping up to be rotational pieces. Luna Ann Brown is working hard to get better, and Renee McGowan is right there in the mix of the DS squad but just needs a bit of fine-tuning for the game to slow down for her."
 
The Bombers will face some of the top competition in the nation during the 2024 season, including AVCA Preseason No. 1 Juniata, No. 4 Johns Hopkins, No. 6 New York University, No. 8 NYU, No. 14 Wesleyan University, as well as three other institutions receiving votes: Cortland, Stevens, and Springfield College.
 
"This preseason we really wanted to get them as many touches as possible," added Stilwell. "I was really happy with how we performed in our scrimmages, and it allowed me to tweak and see different lineup combinations, which is exciting. Our focus going into the season will continue to get better in every aspect of the game, but specifically on the out-of-system game, serve, and receive."
 
The 2024 campaign kicks off with the Springfield College Invitational on Friday, August 30, in Massachusetts, where the team will face the Pride, followed by Rivier University and Stevens on Saturday. Ithaca then returns home to host the annual Bomber Invitational from September 6-7, featuring matches against the University of Rochester, St. John Fisher, and Middlebury College. On September 13, IC will square off against No. 4 Johns Hopkins as part of the Greg "Gio" Giovanazzi Memorial Tournament where they'll also match up against Marymount University and Susquehanna.
 
The Liberty League slate opens up on the road with two-straight contests against Clarkson (Sept. 27) and Skidmore (Sept. 28). They'll then have another big weekend at the NYU Invitational, squaring off against No. 8 Trinity on October 4, followed by Smith College and No. 6 NYU the day after. The Bombers will take on Scranton on the road on October 9 before hosting Union College (Oct. 11) and Vassar College (Oct. 12) at Ben Light Gymnasium.
 
The Bombers then take on William Smith and St. Lawrence in back-to-back road contests before playing in their final invitational of the season at Wesleyan. IC will take on Colby College followed by both No. 1 Juniata College and No. 14 Wesleyan University on October 26. They will then close out the season on their home floor, hosting RIT and Bard for Liberty League contests on November 1 and 2, respectively. The regular season finale will be a tri-match in which Ithaca will welcome both Cortland and Nazareth to town on Saturday, November 9.
 
The Liberty League Championship is set for November 12, 15, and 16, where Ithaca has its sights set on making another deep postseason run.