It was truly a great day to be a Bomber as the No. 22 Ithaca College volleyball team on Nov. 16 dismantled the William Smith Herons for their third straight Liberty League title in three sets by scores of 25-10, 25-15 and 25-15.

Just like the prior day’s match against RIT, the excitement in the building was palpable, but this match had hardware on the line. In contrast to the Bombers’ bombardment of the Tigers, the Herons went to five sets in their semi-final matchup against the Clarkson University Golden Knights. However, William Smith was Ithaca’s only Liberty League matchup to go to five sets, so a competitive game was still expected.

Second verse, same as the first.

The signs of a close match were present initially. The first set began as a back-and-forth affair, but something clicked when the score hit 9-7 in favor of the Bombers. A combination of extremely well-placed kills and errors from the visiting side put the Bombers on a 7-0 run that not even a William Smith timeout could stop the bleeding. A later 8-1 run fueled almost entirely by Heron attacking and receiving mistakes ended a shockingly dominant set.

If the 9-2 lead the Herons jumped out to in the second set meant anything, it was that they would not go down without a fight. Then, one of the Bombers’ biggest weaknesses this season became their biggest strength. For context, the team has conceded more blocks than they have produced this season. Even in the previous match between these two teams, despite losing, the Herons out-blocked the Bombers 8-5. The biggest difference between then and now was the reintroduction of junior middle blocker Ella Graper.

“Ella was healthy, she came in, and she made an impact,” head coach Tara Stilwell said. “She had [seven] blocks and didn’t have an error all weekend, so she was unreal.”

The Bombers parlayed three blocks and a kill from Graper into a comeback that saw them go from down by seven to up by 10 by the end of the set. They ended the match with nine blocks to the Herons’ three, seven of which came from Graper alone. The third set seemed to be nothing more than a formality, but that did not make the winning moment any less special.

When senior right side Faith Sabatier’s right-handed spike dug only as far as the underside of the net for the final Bombers’ point, the home stand erupted. The six Bombers on the court embraced on the floor as teammates ran off the sideline to join them. Stilwell embraced her staff. All of the blood, sweat and tears this season had led up to that moment.

The night prior, Stilwell said her expectations for the match were just to see her team play good volleyball, a bar that Graper seemingly surpassed at the middle blocker role. After putting up a double-double of 10 kills and 10 blocks across the past two games, Graper was named the Bombers’ most outstanding performer in the Liberty League Tournament.

“It’s honestly just amazing,” Graper said, plaque in hand. “Coming back from injury is so hard, so I’m just proud of myself for working through it and then just being able to play for my team and play for all my seniors and Julia [Costa] who’s not coming back, and I just love the team.”

With her south Florida-based family in attendance, sophomore outside hitter Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu led the team in kills on the day with 12 kills and three service aces. She said the team’s success this weekend came from a love of the game.

“It was so much fun,” Gonzalez-Abreu said. “We played such good volleyball. I think that goes hand-in-hand and it really proved it on the court, and then everyone was all smiles. Everyone was high-intensity and high-energy. It was just a great thing to be a part of.”

While it was likely that the Bombers would be going to the NCAA Tournament regardless of this match’s result, the win guaranteed them an automatic bid and potentially a high seed. The South Hill squad found out just how high after their bracket shook out during the NCAA selection show, and the now-No. 4 seeded Bombers will face No. 13 Lasell University Lasers on Nov. 21 in Johns Hopkins’ Goldfarb Gymnasium. In the meantime, they get a chance to digest their win and celebrate.

“It’s my first one,” Stilwell said. “I’m gonna enjoy it.”