ITHACA, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 3 Ithaca College women's volleyball team captured its fifth consecutive Liberty League Championship on Saturday afternoon, defeating William Smith College in four sets at Ben Light Gymnasium. The Bombers secured the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Tournament with the victory, earning another championship under head coach
Tara Stilwell.
Ithaca dropped a tightly contested opening set, 26-24, before responding with three straight set victories by scores of 25-17, 25-20 and 25-20 to secure the title. The Bombers improved to 27-3 overall with the win.
Naomi Clauhs led the Bombers offensively with 18 kills while committing just one error on 45 attempts, hitting .378 for the match.
Addison Leadbetter added 10 kills and three blocks, while
Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu recorded 11 kills and 14 digs.
Brianna Owen contributed nine kills and two blocks, and
Elena Chappell finished with seven kills and a team-high eight block assists.
Wesley Slavin orchestrated the offense with 47 assists while adding seven digs and four block assists. For her efforts throughout the championship, Slavin was named the Liberty League Championship Most Outstanding Performer. She earned the honor after dishing out 81 assists across two matches during the weekend, averaging 11.5 assists per set. She also added five block assists.
The Bombers controlled the final three sets after a narrow opening-set setback, hitting .357 in the second set and .324 in the fourth. Ithaca finished the match with 55 kills, 57 digs and 11 total blocks while holding William Smith to a .138 hitting percentage.
With the victory, Ithaca secured its fifth consecutive Liberty League Championship and third under Stilwell while earning the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. The Bombers will make their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and will learn their opening-round opponent and location during the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Selection Show on Monday, November 16 at 1 p.m. The selection show will be available at ncaa.com.
