BALTIMORE, Md. – The Ithaca College volleyball team saw the 2024 season come to an end on Saturday evening falling in straight sets to Johns Hopkins University (20-25, 23-25, 22-25) in the NCAA Baltimore Regional Championship match. The Bombers held leads within each set, but coultd not earn a set win. The Bombers conclude their season in the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.
Johns Hopkins scored the opening three points of the match on a pair of kills from Simirin Carlsen and Jilienne Widener as Ithaca got on the board with a successful swing from Faith Sabatier. Anaya Prince connected on two straight for the Bombers and was followed by a Peyton Miller service ace that tied the first set at 4-4. Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu gave Ithaca its first lead of the set at 7-6 with a service ace as the teams then traded points until tying again at 10 all after a kill from Naomi Clauhs.
Ella Graper served up another Bomber ace; Prince and Sabatier combined block for a block and Ithaca was ahead by three, 14-11. The Blue Jays countered with 11-3 run that gave them a 22-17 advantage as Ithaca halted the rally with an Ella Graper kill. Johns Hopkins took its first timeout with a slight 23-20 lead and closed out the set with an Alice Yu kill (25-20).
Ithaca opened up the second set with Gonzalez-Abreu and Prince scoring on a kill and block, respectively. Johns Hopkins responded and quickly built a three-point advantage at 7-4. Ithaca then reeled off three-straight points including a kill and block up the middle from Graper. The Bombers continued their scoring run with two kills from Clauhs that were both assisted by Wesley Slavin. With another good swing and a Slavin ace, the Bombers were up by two, 11-9.
Ithaca maintained its lead and were up 15-12 with another great swing from Sabatier. The Jays went on another run (7-4) and forced the Bombers into a timeout with the score knotted at 19-19. The two teams traded points down the stretch and again Hopkins earned the set point with a kill, this time from Brooklyn Pater that won them the second set (25-23) and a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, the Bombers opened with a 2-1 lead and stretched it to 7-4 with a Prince block solo. Coach Tara Stilwell was forced into a timeout when Johns Hopkins scored four in a row to cut the Ithaca lead to just one (11-10). The teams traded the lead back and forth before the Jays built a three-point advantage with an Alice Yu kill. The Bombers continued to fight cutting it to one at 21-20 with a Clauhs kill. They closed on a 5-2 run to close out the set (25-22) and match (3-0).
As a team, the Bombers connected on 40 kills to go along with a .195 hitting percentage. They were led by Clauhs who finished with 12 kills and Ellie Benedict led the defensive effort with a team-high 19 digs.
For the second straight season and third in five years, Ithaca bows out of the NCAA Tournament in the round of 16. The Bombers finish the 2024 campaign with a 24-7 overall record, that included the third straight season of undefeated play in the Liberty League and a third conseuctive conference title.