PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The No. 20 ranked Ithaca College volleyball team battled stiff competition on Saturday in both (RV) Carnegie Mellon and No. 7 Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Saturday as part of Carnegie Mellon Invitational. The Bombers would fall to Carnegie Mellon who have been receiving votes in each AVCA Top-25 Poll so far this season and succumbed in four sets before battling back to take down No. 7 MIT in four. The split sees the Bombers improve to 5-3 overall as they took down a pair of top-10 teams this weekend.
 
(RV) CARNEGIE MELLON 3, NO. 20 ITHACA 1 (25-27, 12-25, 25-22, 24-26)
Against Carnegie Mellon, the Tartans opened with a 4-0 run. Ithaca responded with aces from Brianna Owen and Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu. Carnegie Mellon responded with a surge to bring them up 15-10. A service run brought the Bombers back to 18-18 with a well placed free ball from Ellie Benedict. The Bombers continued to battle for back-to-back points, but lost the set 25-27. 

In set two, the teams continued to battle for points bringing the score to 6-6 with an attack kill from Naomi Clauhs. A service run brought the Tartans up 13-6. Another service run from Ellie Benedict, brought the Bombers back in the set bringing the score to 13-11. Ithaca trailed because of another service run, with a set loss of 25-12. 
 
In set three, the Bombers responded early, battling for points. Another service run led the Bombers to trail 11-5. At a turning point, a service run from Wesley Slavin brought the Bombers back in the set, taking the score to 14-16. The Bombers battled hard for this set, with a clutch service run and an ending kill from Addison Leadbetter to win 25-22. 
 
In the fourth set continued the back-and-forth battle. Slavin continued to connect with the hitters, with big kills from Addison Leadbetter and Brianna Owen to bring the score to 22-22. The teams continued to battle, but the Bombers fell just short with a score of 24-26. 
 
The Bombers were led by Naomi Clauhs with 16 kills, Wesley Slavin with 36 assists and 4 aces, and Ellie Benedict with 31 digs. 
 
 
NO. 20 ITHACA 3, NO. 7 MIT 1 (13-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-21)
The Bombers opened the match with a 3–1 lead behind two kills from Naomi Clauhs and a miscue by MIT, but the Engineers responded with a dominant 12-point run to take control at 13–3. Despite a service ace from Karina Garcia and a few MIT errors, the Engineers maintained momentum and cruised to a 25–13 win in the first set.
 
Ithaca bounced back in the second set, jumping out to a 3–0 lead with kills from Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu and Brianna Owen. Gonzalez-Abreu continued to shine, adding two more kills to extend the lead to 5–1. MIT closed the gap to 8–7, but the Bombers responded with a steady attack, including kills from Ella Graper and Owen, and a service ace from Gonzalez-Abreu to pull away. A six-point run late in the set, fueled by two kills, an ace, and three MIT errors, helped Ithaca even the match with a 25–18 win.
 
In the third set, the Bombers again found themselves trailing early, 10–4. A four-point run, highlighted by kills from Clauhs and Graper, brought them back into the set. After tying the score at 14–14, Ithaca surged ahead with a five-point run that included three Clauhs kills and a Graper finish. Another four-point burst sealed the set, 25–20.
 
The fourth set was tightly contested early, with MIT taking a 3–1 lead before Ithaca tied it up with kills from Gonzalez-Abreu and Addison Leadbetter. A five-point run gave the Bombers a 10–7 edge, and although MIT rallied to tie the set at 20–20, Ithaca closed strong. A four-point run, capped by a Wesley Slavin service ace and kills from Clauhs and Owen, secured the 25–21 win and the match.
 
Ithaca now turns its attention to the Ithaca Invitational, where the Bombers will host No. 22 NYU on Friday at 6:30 p.m. inside Ben Light Gymnasium.