ITHACA, N.Y. – On the back end of a Liberty League opening back-to-back, the No. 19 Ithaca College volleyball team powered past visiting Clarkson University, earning a four-set victory (25–17, 25–20, 22–25, 25–22) on Saturday afternoon inside Ben Light Gymnasium. With the win, the Bombers improved to 2–0 in Liberty League play and 10–3 overall, while Clarkson dropped to 6–8 on the season.
In the opening set, Ithaca built a six-point lead behind a service ace from
Wesley Slavin and kills from
Naomi Clauhs,
Ella Graper,
Brianna Owen, and
Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu to take a 14–8 advantage. The Bombers maintained momentum, with Gonzalez-Abreu and
Addison Leadbetter leading the charge, and Leadbetter delivering the final point in a 25–17 set win.
The Bombers again jumped out to an early lead in the second set, going up 12–5, capped by an Owen kill. Ithaca continued to pull away thanks to another Owen kill, a service ace from
Karina Garcia, and several Clarkson attacking errors, securing the 25–20 win and a 2–0 match lead.
Clarkson responded in the third set with improved defense and strong serving, recording five aces. The Golden Knights opened with a 5–0 run before Ithaca rallied to take a 17–16 lead. However, Clarkson answered back, and a decisive swing from Conley Burns sealed the set at 25–22 to avoid the sweep.
Ithaca came out firing in the fourth, scoring eight of the first 10 points behind multiple kills from Clauhs and back-to-back aces from Leadbetter. Clarkson narrowed the gap to within two points at 14–12, 15–13, and 16–14, but the Bombers surged ahead with a strong offensive push. Gonzalez-Abreu and Clauhs went back-to-back at the net, and Gonzalez-Abreu added a clutch ace to make it 24–19. Clarkson staved off match point briefly before Leadbetter's final kill clinched the 25–22 set and match victory.
Graduate libero
Ellie Benedict surpassed 1,000 career digs during the first set and finished with 24 on the afternoon. Offensively, Clauhs led the way with 20 kills, while Gonzalez-Abreu also reached double figures.
Wesley Slavin contributed a match-high 43 assists.
Next up, Ithaca hits the road for a midweek Liberty League matchup at RIT on Wednesday, October 1. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
