This weekend the volleyball team traveled to Hoboken, N.J., as Stevens Institute of Technology hosted the Empire 8 Championship tournament. The Bombers, who racked up an impressive 6–2 conference record during the regular season, took on Nazareth College Saturday in the semifinal match.

The Blue and Gold have squared off with Nazareth the past two weekends, first at the Empire 8 crossover on Oct. 25 followed by the third-place game at the New York Super Regional Challenge on Nov. 1. The Bombers came up short in both competitions, loosing 3–1 and 3–0, respectively.

However, this week as the Bomber’s prepared to take on the Golden Flyers, the team felt as though their previous encounters with their opponent prepared them well for what would be the two teams’ most critical battle of the season.

“[They’re] still a good team and it’s hard to beat a good team three times in a row,” sophomore Chelsea Hayes said. “Since we’ve had the opportunity to play them more than once we have gotten to know more of their strengths and more of their weaknesses. It’s actually beneficial for us that we have gotten to see them so many times recently.”

Much like last weekend’s matchup the Bombers jumped out to early set leads, but in this match they were able to sustain these leads as they cruised to a 3–1 victory by a score of 25–16, 25–21, 21–25, 25–14.

Senior captains Rachel Busch and Corinna Doctor both stepped up in a big way for the Bombers in the match. Busch set the tone for the Bombers by hitting an outstanding .500 in the first set. She led all players with 15 total kills and hit .393 overall. Doctor dropped 38 assists and added a team-best 16 digs in the contest. She also scored two service aces, moving her just one ace away from matching Ithaca’s all-time record, a feat she accomplished in the championship match.

Doctor finished her career with 282 career aces, while the Bombers advanced to the Empire 8 Championship for the first time since 2006 where they took on top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology.

Despite the 3–0 score the Bombers were competitive with the Ducks. The Blue and Gold pushed the first game to 27–25 before relinquishing the set. Ithaca tallied 18 points in both the second and third matches, but it wasn’t enough to overcome its opponent as the Bombers settled for a second-place finish.

In spite of the loss, the Bombers ended the season with a respectable overall record of 23–17, including a championship title at the Bomber Invitational. The Bombers are in position to return 11 players in the 2010 season.