ITHACA, N.Y. – As announced during the NCAA Division III Selection Show on Monday afternoon, the Ithaca College volleyball program will once again be competing in the NCAA Division III Championship as part of the 64-team field. The Bombers will be making the program's 10th-straight appearance, where they will travel to Middletown, Conn. later this week to compete in the Wesleyan University regional pod.
 
Ithaca (26-4) is seeded No. 2 in the regional bracket and will play Plymouth State (23-7) in the opening round. The Panthers similar to Ithaca earned an automatic bid after winning their conference tournament, which was the Little East Conference as they upset top-seeded and two-time defending champion University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 3-1 (25-20, 25-10, 17-25, 25-20).
 
INTERACTIVE BRACKET
 
ITHACA IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS: The Bombers are 34-28 all-time in the NCAA Tournament dating back to 1982. IC has reached the national semifinals three times in program history – 1994, 1995 and 2017. The Bombers have also been to the quarterfinals on three other occasions – 1998, 1999 and 2018. This will be IC's 37th all-time appearance in the national tournament. The Bombers defeated Lasell University (25-20, 25-15, 25-20) in three sets during the 2024 NCAA Tournament in a first round matchup and followed it up with another three set win in the second round against Smith College (25-22, 28-20, 25-20). IC fell in the regional final match to host Johns Hopkins by set scores of 20-25, 23-25 and 22-25.
 
REGIONAL INFORMATION:
Thursday, November 20 – First Round
 
Babson (22-7) vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (20-7) – 11:30 a.m.
Colby (23-3) vs. Marymount (17-16) – 2 p.m.
Ithaca (26-4) vs. Plymouth State (23-7) – 4:30 p.m.
Wesleyan (20-3) vs. NYU (19-11) – 7 p.m.
 
Friday, November 21 – Second Round
 
Colby/Marymount vs. Babson/ Claremont-Mudd-Scripps – 4:30 p.m.
Ithaca/Plymouth State vs. Wesleyan/NYU – 7 p.m.
 
Saturday, November 22 – Regional Final
 
Semifinal Winner #1 vs. Semifinal Winner #2 – 5 p.m.
 

 
THE 2025 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: A total of 64 teams will compete in the tournament running from Nov. 20-Dec. 6. Host institutions will hold regional play on campuses across the country from November 20-22. Advancing teams will move onto the national quarterfinals the following weekend, and the final will be held at the Shirk Center Arena in Bloomington, Ill. on Saturday, December 6 at 4 p.m.
 
ITHACA LEADERS: The Bombers won the Liberty League tournament for the fourth-straight season as they defeated the No. 4 seeded Skidmore Thoroughbreds in the semifinals before upending No. 3 seeded William Smith in an epic five-setter on Saturday.
 
Offensively, the Bombers are balanced with Naomi Clauhs (422), Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu (390) and Addison Leadbetter (223) achieving 200 or more kills. Just behind them is Brianna Owen who has collected 175 kills. Leadbetter and Ella Graper have been a big force through the middle of the net as they've tallied 74 and 109 blocks each. Graper averages a block per set and her 109 total on the season is tied for 26^th across NCAA Division III.
 
Helping keep the offensive attack flowing is junior setter Wesley Slavin who has totaled 1,106 assists on the season. She has tallied 20 or more assists in 27 of the Bombers 30 matches played entering the regional weekend. Defensively, Ellie Benedict has put together 590 digs from the back row as her 5.41 digs per set ranks 20^th nationally. Gonzalez-Abreu has chipped in 312 digs, while senior Karina Garcia has corralled a career-best 235.
 
Five Bombers have surpassed 30 aces on the year as well – Wesley Slavin (57), Ellie Benedict (52), Addison Leadbetter (39), Brianna Owen (36) and Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu (30).
 
More information on the regional matchup with Plymouth State including Thursday's streaming links will be posted later this week.