Ithaca Volleyball Perfect at Crossover; Earns Top Seed
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Ithaca (19-11, 7-1 Empire 8) volleyball team rolled past a pair of Empire 8 opponents on Saturday at the second Empire 8 Crossover. Ithaca blanked Alfred (6-19, 1-6 Empire 8), 3-0 (25-11, 25-9, 25-16), before snapping the Stevens' 15 match win streak by claiming a crucial, 3-1 (27-5, 5-3 Empire 8) victory on Saturday afternoon at Ben Light Gymnasium.
In a match where the entire Ithaca lineup saw action, the Bombers led the play the entire way over Alfred. Twice the Saxons were able to knot play, but Ithaca was too much for the visiting squad as it tallied its third consecutive 3-0 shutout and its ninth of the year.
The first set featured a 6-1 opening run and a seven unanswered from Ithaca to secure a 25-11 win for an early 1-0 lead.
The second frame looked much like the first as it opened in Ithaca’s favor, 9-2. The Bombers maintained the cushion and recorded eight of the final nine points to put away the second set, 25-9.
The third and final stanza was highlighted by a 13-3 opening run. Ithaca held a 23-10 gap and notched a pair of points to claim the third game, 25-15, despite the Saxons tallying six of the final eight points to cut the deficit to a single-digit difference.
The Bombers were led by juniors Karin Edsall (Cornwall Central/Cornwall and Jessica Hoeffner (Hauppauge/Hauppauge) with a match-high 10 kills each and hitting percentages of .588 and .364, respectively.
Freshman Sydney Folk (Long Beach/Long Beach) helped their efforts with a team-high 16 assists, while sophomore Marissa Woodcome (Pittsford Sutherland/Pittsford) added 10 for the Blue & Gold.