Bombers Claim Ithaca Invitational Crown with Five-Set Thriller
ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca volleyball team (16-11) captured a 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-11, 25-14) victory over Potsdam (17-11) before winning a five-set thriller against Fredonia, 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 14-25, 25-23, 15-11) to claim the Ithaca Invitational crown on Saturday at Ben Light Gymnasium. Seniors Chelsea Hayes (Northern Valley Regional/Haworth, N.J.) and Karin Edsall (Cornwall Central/Cornwall) earned all-tournament team recognition.
Despite a slow start to the first match, Ithaca bounced back from surrendering the first set, 25-22, to win three straight. The Bombers snapped an 18-18 tie in the second with a 7-1 run to knot the series, 1-1. Ithaca went on to handle the Bears in the third, 25-11, and cruise to a fourth-set win, 25-14. The second match fluctuated as the Blue Devils claimed the first and third games and the Bombers the second and fourth to force the match to five. Ithaca took a solid 6-2 lead in the final frame en route to its seventh consecutive victory.
The Bombers jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first set, but a 13-3 Potsdam run secured the visitor’s lead for good. Ithaca brought the match within three on three occasions, but stayed a step ahead to claim the first, 25-22.
Ithaca rewrote an early 10-6 deficit to deadlock the game at 14-14 on a pair of Marissa Weil (Corning West/Corning) kills and a Nicki Readie (Pascack Hills/Montvale, N.J.) service ace. The set was tied four additional times, but Ithaca closed out the set with a 7-1 run, 25-19.
The third stanza opened with Ithaca taking eight of the first 10 points. Potsdam collected a pair before the Bombers went on a 7-1 run to instate a double-digit cushion. Ithaca continued to dominate, taking the third, 25-11.
Much like the third, the Bombers took an early, 8-3 lead. They maintained their composure for a 17-9 lead which they added to polishing off the match with a 25-14 fourth-set win.
The senior trio of Jessica Hoeffner (Hauppauge/Hauppauge) and Kate Thoene (Voorhees/High Bridge, N.J.) again led offensive efforts with double-digit kill performances, while Edsall dished out a match-high 36 assists.
Hayes and Hoeffner each recorded double-doubles as Hayes put away 15 kills and tallied 15 digs and Hoeffner, 14 and 15, respectively. Thoene posted 11 kills and three aces, while junior Marissa Woodcome (Pittsford Sutherland/Pittsford) also picked up 10 digs for the Bombers’ defense.
Ithaca used an early 5-2 lead in the first against the Blue Devils to take a 15-12 advantage, but Fredonia tallied five unanswered to take the lead for good. The Blue Devils outscored Ithaca 10-6 down the stretch to take the first, 25-21.
The Bombers answered in the second. Ithaca never trailed as it jumped out to a commanding 13-7 lead which it improved upon for a 17-9 advantage. The Blue & Gold knotted the series with a 25-17 victory.
Like Ithaca in the second, Fredonia came out swinging in the third. The Blue Devils took a solid 10-3 edge, but not to be outdone, Ithaca inched its way back within three, 16-13. Fredonia held the Bombers to just one point as it put away nine to take the third, 25-14.
The Blue Devils looked to win in four winning 10 of the first 15 points, but Ithaca used a 7-1 streak to take the lead, 12-11. The set was deadlocked on seven occasions before the Bombers broke a 23-23 stalemate with a
Hoeffner kill and a Fredonia attack error to force the fifth set.
Ithaca powered to victory as it opened the final frame on a 6-2 run. The Blue Devils made it a 9-8 match, but Ithaca scored four of the next five before taking the championship with a
Thoene kill to finalize the fifth, 15-11.
Thoene led the Bombers with 15 kills and added six blocks (two solo, four assists), while Hayes had 13 kills and 12 digs. Hoeffner added 10 kills and a career-high 29 digs to lead the match. Edsall put up 31 assists, 20 digs and four aces against the Blue Devils.
Potsdam Box Score |
Fredonia Box Score