ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 15 nationally ranked Ithaca College volleyball team hosted (RV) William Smith and William Peterson for a tri-match inside Ben Light Gymnasium on Saturday. In the Liberty League showdown, the Bombers won the first two sets over the Herons, but the match would go to five sets before the home team prevailed (25-21, 25-17, 22-25, 19-25, 15-8). Ithaca would then remain perfect on its home court, taking down William Peterson (25-21, 18-25, 25-11, 25-14) in four sets to also extend their win streak to 15 in a row.
NO. 15 ITHACA 3, (RV) WILLIAM SMITH 1 (25-21, 25-17, 22-25, 19-25, 15-8)
Erasing an early 7-3 deficit, the Bombers rallied to take a 14-13 lead and never looked back in the opening set. Trailing 13-12, a kill by
Brianna Owen tied the set and sent the momentum back to Ithaca. Owen's kill ignited a 9-1 Bomber run, building to a 21-14 advantage. In that run, the hosts served three aces, two from Owen and one from
Ellie Benedict. William Smith cut the deficit to three points late in the set, but a kill from
Naomi Clauhs secured a 25-21 win for the Bombers.
The story was all Ithaca in the second set, cruising to a 25-17 win. The Bombers built a big lead early in the set and withstood a late push from William Smith. Leading 22-17, Ithaca scored the final three points to win the second set. A service error by the Herons sent the ball back to the Bombers, as a Benedict ace and a kill from
Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu helped Ithaca take a 2-0 lead.
William Smith responded in the next two sets, forcing a decisive fifth set. With the Herons leading 23-20 in the third, two attack errors by the visitors helped Ithaca trim the deficit to one. The Herons immediately answered with two straight points, taking the third set 25-22. In the fourth set, the visitors built a sizable lead early on and maintained all momentum to win, 25-19.
The Herons broke out to a 6-3 lead in the fifth before a Clauhs kill sparked a 9-0 run by the Bombers. Back-to-back kills from
Ella Graper capped off the run, seeing the hosts lead 12-6. After two points by William Smith, the Bombers finished with a 3-0 run to win the crucial conference match and they remain undefeated in Liberty League regular season play since 2021.
Clauhs' 20 kills led Ithaca, as Gonzalez-Abreu added 14.
Brianna Owen was the third Bomber with double-digit kills, tallying 12 in the victory, as
Wesley Slavin's 49 assists led the way. Defensively, Benedict totaled a team-high 25 digs with Gonzalez-Abreu adding 17 for the double-double.
NO. 15 ITHACA 3, WILLIAM PETERSON 1 (25-21, 18-25, 25-11, 25-14)
Naomi Clauhs led all players with 23 kills, including seven in the opening set and eight in the second.
Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu followed with 15 kills, while
Addison Leadbetter added 10.
Wesley Slavin orchestrated the offense with 49 assists, and the back row was anchored by
Ellie Benedict and
Karina Garcia, who tallied 19 and 16 digs, respectively.
The Bombers came out strong in the first set, fueled by early kills from Clauhs and Leadbetter. A service error by Slavin allowed the Pioneers to tie the score at 3–3, but Ithaca responded with a 5–0 run to take control heading into the first timeout. The momentum continued as the Bombers won four of the next five points to extend their lead to 12–4.
William Paterson fought back with a run of their own, highlighted by three kills from Riley Elliott and a pair of service aces from Abby Houpt, narrowing the gap to 14–11. The set remained tight, with the Pioneers cutting the deficit to just one point, but Ithaca held firm to take the opener, 25–21.
The second set saw a shift in momentum as William Paterson jumped out to a 6–1 lead behind two aces from Taylor Grady. Despite a strong effort from Gonzalez-Abreu and Clauhs, who combined for 14 kills in the frame, the Bombers were unable to overcome a series of errors and dropped the set 25–18, evening the match at one apiece.
In the third set, Ithaca regained control. After a 3–2 start, the Bombers surged ahead with an 8–2 run, capped by a
Brianna Owen service ace and kills from Leadbetter, Gonzalez-Abreu, Slavin, and Owen. Ithaca limited its mistakes to just three errors in the set and never let the Pioneers back in, cruising to a dominant 25–11 win.
The fourth and final set began evenly, with the teams trading the first eight points. Garcia's strong serving sparked a 5–0 run that forced a William Paterson timeout. Ithaca maintained its lead throughout, never allowing the Pioneers to get closer than five points. Benedict sealed the match with a kill, giving the Bombers a 25–14 win and a 3–1 match victory.
With the pair of wins, Ithaca improves to 19–3 on the season. The Bombers will close out their regular-season home slate on Wednesday evening when they host Scranton for a 6 p.m. matchup.
