MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Ithaca College volleyball team began the 2025 NCAA Division III Championship tournament on Thursday afternoon in a first round matchup against Plymouth State University. The Bombers played a competitive first set, then rolled through the next two to complete the sweep (25-22, 25-14, 25-17).
Ithaca got off to a slow start, allowing the Panthers to take a 4-2 lead. The Bombers responded with six-straight points to go up 8-4, prompting Plymouth State to call the first timeout of the match. Coming out of the break, Jayden Weise recorded her first kill, but the Panthers clawed back with a 4-0 run to even the score at 13-13.
Weise delivered another powerful swing to give the Bombers a 16-14 advantage. The teams continued to trade points before knotting the score at 17-17. Plymouth State then regained the lead after an Ithaca attacking error and a solo block by Sydney Riley, making it 19-17. The Panthers pushed their lead to three points, but the Bombers stormed back with Bridget Altland at the service line. Addison Leadbetter added three clutch kills down the stretch as Ithaca closed out the set, 25-22.
The Bombers jumped out to an early 6-2 lead behind kills from Jayden Weise, Ella Graper, and Naomi Clauhs. Plymouth State answered by taking five of the next six points to pull within one at 8-7, but Leadbetter came up big in the middle, hammering home a kill to halt the run. Ithaca really came alive in the middle of the set and would make it 19-11 following two-straight Wesley Slavin aces and a successful swing from Naomi Clauhs. The Bombers would finish the set off with one final kill from Jayden Wiese to take it 25-14.
Ithaca dominated the start of the third set, scoring eight of the first 10 points. Brianna Owen capped the run with a strong swing that forced Plymouth State to call an early timeout. The Bombers would again go on an extended run, this time scoring eight of the next nine to go up 16-4 following an Ellie Benedict service ace. Leadbetter would tally two more kills as Ithaca led 20-10 and would eventually close it out with one final opponent attacking error to take it, 25-17.
Next up, the Bombers will square off against the winner of NYU/Wesleyan on Friday, November 20 in the Round of 32. The match will begin at 7 p.m. in Silloway Gymnasium on the campus of Wesleyan University.