Ithaca Falls to Brockport in NCAA Regional Semifinals
Photo Gallery | Post-Match Interview
BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The Ithaca College volleyball team had its season come to an end on Saturday evening, as Ithaca fell in three sets (16-25, 17-25, 20-25) to regional-host Brockport (34-3) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It marks the second consecutive year that the Bombers had its run in the tournament conclude in the Round of 32. IC concludes the year with a record of 27-6, while the Golden Eagles move on to face No. 5 Emory in the regional final tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
Ithaca could never find rhythm against a motivated Brockport squad that was buoyed by a boisterous home crowd that created a fever pitch in Vlogianitis Gymnasium for the majority of the evening. The Golden Eagles service game gave the Bombers trouble for most of the night, while the home team also consistently was able to keep IC out of system in thorough offensive and defensive effort.
"We knew we were in for a battle coming into today's match," head coach
Johan Dulfer said. "As is usually the case, it really boiled down to the serve-pass game within the game. Unfortunately, we really struggled with Brockport's serve over stretches and that got us a little frazzled."
Brockport racked up 39 kills on .290 hitting, while Ithaca was only able to register 29 kills, primarily due to the passing struggles that plagued IC on this evening. The Bombers hit only .037 for the match, its second lowest total of the year.
"I give Brockport all the credit," Dulfer continued. "They have building up for this moment over the past three years and really played excellently offensively and defensively with a great crowd behind them as well. Although it unfortunately came at our expense, it is a great moment for them and they certainly earned it with how well they played tonight."
The Golden Eagles stormed out of the gates in the opening set winning five of the first six rallies in the match and extending the lead to 8-3, prompting an Ithaca timeout. Brockport continued the momentum with three more points on serve coming out of the break to widen the gap to 11-3.
Brockport extended the advantage as wide as nine points, before Ithaca was finally able to get a bit of a foothold in the match.
Amanda Cerruti and
Katie Evans notched back-to-back kills, while
Caroline Gerulskis and
Taylor McCarthy added kills for Ithaca. Gromen added a service ace during the 5-1 run, which pulled Ithaca back within 14-9.
Ithaca would close within five points two other times down the back stretch of the opening set, but could get no closer. The Golden Eagles ended the frame with four straight points to win the set 25-16, securing the early lead.
Ithaca got off to a better start in the middle set, taking the first two points of the frame and maintaining a slim lead through the early portions of the game. McCarthy and Cerruti combined on a block assist, while Gerulskis and Haily Adler each added kills. However, it was Brockport that was better able to string together scoring streaks to pull away in the set.
The Golden Eagles put together three separate four-point runs during the second to again pull away from the Bombers for a commanding lead in the match. The comebacks, which were so prevalent in yesterday's thrilling opening-round victory over Middlebury, were unable to be replicated against Brockport on Saturday. The third of those four-point streaks widened the edge to seven points at 21-14. IC would get no closer, falling 25-17 in the set.
Brockport did not let IC get back into the match during the third frame, jumping out to another early lead by virtue of an 8-1 scoring run in which it continued to pester Ithaca with a strong service game. The Golden Eagles scored three service aces during the streak, which transformed a 4-3 Ithaca advantage into an 11-5 deficit.
The Bombers fought hard to the last point, three times closing within four points down the stretch. However, each time the Bombers punched, Brockport punched back. The hosts held off Ithaca down the stretch for a 25-20 win and the straight-sets victory to end IC's title run.
"It's a bitter pill to swallow right now, but as a program it is a learning experience for us," Dulfer added. "These are the kind of matches that we expect to be in as a program and we'll continue to grow from experiences like this weekend moving forward."
McCarthy continued her strong NCAA Tournament debut with a team-leading seven kills. The freshman added two digs and a block assists.
Joelle Goldstein was held in check for the Bombers, posting six kills and adding six digs. Adler finished with five kills and a dig on the opposite side, while Gerulskis chipped in four kills, two block assists, and one dig.
In the middle, Cerruti marked three kills, one solo block, and two block assists. Evans also posted three kills and added one block assist.
Gromen paced Ithaca with 14 assists, additionally posting one kill, one service ace, and three digs. Rookie setter
Caitlyn Floyd added 12 assists and three digs. Sophomore libero
Tara Stilwell led the team with 19 digs.
Marlee Wierda marked a pair of digs, while senior
Myan Idziur chipped in three digs in her final collegiate match.
"I couldn't ask for a better first season with this amazing group of women," Dulfer concluded. "There are so many positives to take from the year. They battled hard under some difficult circumstances and played with so much purpose throughout the year. This year is something for us to build on in our ultimate goal of winning a National Championship."