BALTIMORE, Md. – The Ithaca College volleyball team was back in action on Saturday taking part in the Greg "Gio" Giovanazzi Memorial Tournament and rolled over both Susquehanna University and Marymount University, taking down both programs in straight sets. With the two wins, the Bombers improved to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in neutral site matches.
 
REACTION FROM HEAD COACH TARA STILWELL
"Honestly I don't think we played our best volleyball this weekend, but it was encouraging to see our fight in each match, and we ended up prevailing with two sweeps today," remarked Stilwell. "I'm proud of how we challenged the No. 3 team in the country and we'll definitely takeaway several great teaching points that we'll be able to work on moving forward into Liberty League play in a little over a week."
 
vs. Susquehanna (25-20, 25-23, 25-21)
The Bombers steadily improved throughout the match, culminating in an impressive 17 kills at a .406 hitting percentage in the third set. Naomi Clauhs led the team with 13 kills, followed by Faith Sabatier with 11. The offense was orchestrated by Wesley Slavin, who contributed 23 assists. Sabatier and Ella Graper were dominant at the net, recording six and five blocks, respectively.
 
Ithaca jumped out to a 6-1 lead, capped off by a successful swing from Anya Prince. Susquehanna managed to tie the set at 12 points apiece, but Ithaca responded with a run that included three consecutive kills from Naomi Clauhs, building a 19-13 lead. The Bombers secured the set with two straight points, including an Ellie Benedict service ace.
 
Ithaca had to overcome a 16-10 deficit after a kill from Ithaca's Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu that was able to stop a run. Samantha Klemm's two consecutive aces shifted the momentum back to Ithaca, who then scored five of the final six points. The set was clinched with a Maddie Cox ace and a Jayden Wiese kill, assisted by Cox.
 
The third set was a back-and-forth battle, with the teams trading points up to a 16-16 tie. Ithaca's offense then went on a 6-3 run, creating some breathing room and leading 22-19. The Bombers closed out the set and the match on an opponent service error.
 
vs. Marymount (25-16, 25-23, 26-24)
The Bombers showcased a balanced attack with three different student-athletes finishing with 10 or more kills: Faith Sabatier (10), Ella Graper (10), and Naomi Clauhs (13). Wesley Slavin contributed significantly with 35 assists and 10 digs, while Ellie Benedict also collected 10 digs.
 
Marymount opened with a 3-0 lead, but Ithaca quickly responded with a huge 8-1 run, capped off by an Ella Graper kill. Graper added another kill at the net, and fellow middle Anaya Prince connected on an effort that put the Bombers up 18-8. Marymount attempted to chip away at the lead but ultimately fell due to an attacking error.
 
The second set proved to be super competitive. Ithaca showed its grit, mounting a comeback that included a Wesley Slavin ace to tie the set at 20 points apiece. IC then went on a 4-2 run, highlighted by another ace from Samantha Klemm. Although Marymount scored two consecutive points, the set was closed out by a kill from Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu.
 
The third set was also tightly contested, with neither team able to build much breathing room. However, Ithaca prevailed in extras, winning 26-24 thanks to an opponent attacking error and a kill from Naomi Clauhs. To cap off the sweep, the Bombers connected on 19 kills in the third set, swinging at a .372 clip.
 
Next up, Ithaca College will have 12 days to prepare for its first Liberty League match, which is slated for Friday, September 27 at Clarkson University. The match is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. and they will play at Skidmore the following day at 2 p.m.