In a far more competitive match than expected, it took the No. 20 Ithaca College volleyball team four sets to beat the Vassar College Brewers on Oct. 12, winning 25-11, 25-13, 22-25 and 25-15 at Ben Light Gymnasium.
Vassar came into the match sitting at just 2-11 on the season amid a seven-game losing streak. Expecting a clean three-set sweep for the Bombers was not unreasonable considering the Brewers had only taken a set off of them once in five meetings since 2019.
The first set saw the Bombers thoroughly dominate the Brewers in every aspect of the game. Bomber kills were spiked between Vassar blockers and out of reach of their defensive specialists with ease. One such kill from senior right side Faith Sabatier, who led the team with 11 kills on the day, was hit with such venom that the Brewer defender could only deflect it into one of the highest rows of the away-side bleachers.
The real standout of the set was senior middle blocker Anaya Prince, who put up six kills on a perfect hitting percentage. She would go on to finish with 10 kills and tie for a team-high in points, with 11. Prince said the dominant performance was important to her.
“I just go in every single game and have a [sense of] urgency,” Prince said. “Going in and playing free and having fun every single time I go out there. I didn’t even know the stat was that way, so I’m surprised at myself.”
At the beginning of the second set, the cracks started to show. That set ended well enough, but the stats help show a noticeable dip in performance that was seen on the court but not reflected in the score. Ithaca’s hitting percentage cratered from .652 in the first set down to .176 as the Bombers committed five more attacking errors and scored two fewer kills than in the previous set.
After a rotated side took the court in the third set, those cracks became fractures. The Bombers drew first blood after a well-placed kill by senior middle blocker Josie Hampton, but that would be their only lead of the set. The Bomber faithful looked on as the Brewers built up a four-point lead that Ithaca would be able to tie but never take. When Vassar was awarded the set-winning point, the stands went silent.
Thankfully the Bombers came out swinging in the fourth set, giving the Brewers a drubbing that included a 6-0 Bomber start to the set and a lead that got as high as 13 points.
Sophomore outside hitter/right side Naomi Clauhs, who also ended the day with 10 kills, said the result was a test for their team that would be able to help them going forward.
“After the first two sets we were pretty confident,” Clauhs said. “That third set obviously took a hit to that confidence, but I think when we came back in that fourth set, we really knew how to lock in and I think that kind of just taught us the lesson about putting the best foot forward, no matter what the situation is.”
The Bombers improve to 14-3 and look toward a potential Liberty League Conference Championship matchup at 6 p.m. Oct. 16 in Geneva, when they take on the surging 14-2 William Smith Herons.
