After a loss in the championship match of the Empire 8 tournament, the Bombers came into the Eastern College Athletic Conference Metro/Upstate Volleyball Tournament with hopes of finishing their season on a high note. The Blue and Gold proved they deserved their No. one seed, defeating Elmira College in the tournament final, to emerge as ECAC champions on Saturday.

The Bombers opened play on Wednesday with an impressive sweep of Saint Joseph’s College. Ithaca took control from the start and never let up as they cruised to victory by a score of 25-14, 25-17, 25-19. Ithaca’s defense played extremely well holding the Golden Eagles to a mere .065 hitting percentage, thanks in large part to sophomore middle hitter Kate Thoene. Thoene posted five blocks in the contest making her the first Bomber to reach 100 blocks in a single season since 2005, while also contributing 10 kills and posting an impressive .444 hitting percentage.

The South Hill Squad moved on to face Ramapo College on Saturday. The Roadrunners put up a great fight, but in the end the Blue and Gold came out with the victory in a thrilling five-set match. The Bombers were down, but never out, even after falling behind 6-1 in the fifth set. Thoene again stepped up her play posting a match-high 20 kills and a career high eight blocks. Junior Tina Orlandini helped the Bombers with a match-high 22 digs in the victory.

The Bombers set their sights on the ECAC tournament title as they were matched up against host Elmira College. The Bombers dropped the first set 17-25, but then rallied to win three straight sets, and were crowned ECAC Champions for the fourth time in program history. Once again, Thoene was a key contributor in the win, recording 13 kills and eight blocks in the match.

Senior setter Corinna Doctor took home the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player honors recording 113 assists in the Blue and Gold’s three matches. Doctor finished her career with 5,613 total assists, many of which were set to senior outside hitter Rachel Busch, who concludes her collegiate career with 1,077 total kills