Ithaca Volleyball to Face Lebanon Valley in NCAA Regionals
Complete Bracket
ITHACA’S INVITATION: The Ithaca College volleyball team (22-14) has been selected for the NCAA Division III playoffs. The Bombers will play in the eight-team regional, hosted by Frostburg State University, starting on Friday, Nov. 12-14. Ithaca will play Lebanon Valley College (23-9) in the quarterfinals on Friday at 12:30 p.m. with the winner to face the winner of quarterfinal between Juniata College (30-5) and Cabrini (23-7), which will be played on Friday at 3 p.m. The other quarterfinal matches feature Cortland (33-7) and Case Western Reserve (24-10) on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Pitt-Bradford (24-3) versus host Frostburg State (32-3) on Friday at 8 p.m., with the winners playing in the other semifinal. The semifinal rounds will be played on Saturday at 3:30 and 6 p.m. and the final match is set for a 4 p.m. start on Sunday.
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets for each session are $6 for adults, $4 for students (with an ID).
ITHACA vs. REGIONAL FIELD: The Bombers have never faced Lebanon Valley or Cabrini. Ithaca twice fell to Cortland this year and has a 35-75 all-time record against the Red Dragons. The Bombers last battled Juniata in 2009 and is 1-12 against the Eagles all-time. Ithaca has a knotted 1-1 record with host Frostburg State and winning all-time records of 3-0 over Pitt-Bradford and 1-0 against Case Western Reserve.
ITHACA vs. 2010 NCAA PLAYOFF FIELD: The Bombers faced three other 2010 NCAA playoff teams this season, blanking Johnson & Wales, 3-0, defeating Stevens, 3-1, and losing to Clarkson in a five-set battle.
ITHACA IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS: The Bombers are making their 17th appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs. The last 12 have come under head coach Janet Donovan. The Bombers reached the regional finals seven times in the eight years between 1994 and 2001. Ithaca advanced to the national semifinals in 1994 and 1995, hosting the 1994 semifinals and championship. In 1999 the Bombers won their third regional title, rallying from two games down to beat host Cortland in the regional finals. Ithaca owns a record of 18-18 in NCAA playoff competition, having most recently advanced to the semifinal match in the 2005 playoffs.
THE 2010 PLAYOFFS: The Division III championship provides for a 63-team, single-elimination tournament. The 63 teams include 42 winners of conferences whose champions have been awarded automatic qualification (including Empire 8 champion Ithaca, Commonwealth Conference champion Lebanon Valley, State University of New York Athletic Conference champion Cortland, Landmark Conference champion Juniata, Colonial States Athletic Conference champion Cabrini, Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference champion Pitt-Bradford and Capital Athletic Conference champion Frostburg State), 19 teams from those conferences who did not win their conference title (including Case Western Reserve, who placed fourth in the University Athletic Association) and two teams that are either independents or members of conferences whose champions do not receive automatic bids. Six other schools – Carthage, Christopher Newport, Emory, New York University, St. Thomas (Minn.) and Springfield – will host eight-team regionals Friday through Saturday, while Wittenberg will host competition Thursday through Saturday. The eight regional winners advance to the national quarterfinals with the four quarterfinal winners advancing to the national semifinals and final, to be held Nov. 19-21 at the Washington University Field House in St. Louis, Miss.
ITHACA LEADERS: Junior Kate Thoene (Voorhees/High Bridge) leads the team with 328 kills (2.56 per set) and 149 blocks (56 solo, 93 assists). Juniors Chelsea Hayes (Northern Valley Regional/Haworth, N.J.) and Jessica Hoeffner (Hauppauge/Hauppauge) add 322 (2.64 per set) and 270 kills (2.87 per set), respectively. Freshman Sydney Folk (Long Beach/Long Beach) paces the Bombers averaging 5.83 assists per set, while sophomore Marissa Woodcome (Pittsford Sutherland/Pittsford) contributes 3.86 assists per set. Ithaca’s leaders in digs are seniors Taylor Horton (Lakeridge/Lake Oswego, Ore.) and Tina Orlandini (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy/Altadena, Calif.) with 577 and 386, respectively. Woodcome leads the squad with 48 service aces, while Orlandini adds 44 and Horton 41.