The Ithaca College volleyball team won both of its matches against Utica College and Houghton College on Sept. 26, marking its 12th-straight win and improving to 15–1 in 2015. It is the best start to the season for the Bombers in over a decade.
In the first match against Utica, the Blue and Gold won in consecutive sets for the sweep.
It was a back and forth first set to start off as Utica pulled ahead 8–6 before subbing in sophomore outside hitter Andreana Kroup. After a service error by Kroup, the Bombers would win the next four points to go up 12–8 and never look back, winning the set 25–16.
The second set saw a run of consecutive points for both teams. However, the Bombers made six straight points to go up 18–12 and eventually win the set 25–23.
In the third and final set, the Blue and Gold went ahead 7–2 to begin the set and never trailed the Pioneers, only tying twice for the remainder of the set for the 25–21 win.
Sophomore outside hitter Joelle Goldstein paced the team with 12 kills, with freshman middle hitter Katie Evans recording nine, followed by junior middle hitter Breanne Tuohy with seven.
Sophomore setter Kayla Gromen registered a team-high 34 assists, three aces and 11 digs on the day, while senior captain Dylan Gawinski-Stern led the Bombers defensively with 16 digs.
The squad took on Houghton in the second match, defeating the Highlanders in four sets.
In the first set, the Bombers made the first move starting off with a 7–4 lead, before Houghton rallied off seven of nine points to pull ahead 11–10. The Bombers would eventually drop the set 25–23 for its first loss in 13 straight sets.
The Bombers began the second and third sets off by storming to seven-point leads in both to win the sets 25–18 and 25–21, respectively.
In the fourth set, the team scored 11 of 12 points to lead 15–5 at one point. The Highlanders attempted a comeback to pull within nine, but the Bombers went on to eventually clinch 25–18 in the final set.
Goldstein had 20 kills in the game, with Evans adding 14 and freshman outside hitter Hailey Adler with 12 kills. Gromen had 58 assists in the game, a season-high for her, while Gawinski-Stern once again came up huge for the Bombers defensively with 15 digs.
The South Hill squad will take part in the Fredonia Tournament from Oct. 2–3, facing off against SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Canton and Hilbert College in Fredonia, New York.
