GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith volleyball team dropped a Liberty League matchup 3-0 to ninth-ranked Ithaca this evening in Bristol Gym. With the loss, the Herons fell to 12-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play, while the Bombers improved to 16-3 on the season with a 5-0 mark in the Liberty League.
The thrilling conference matchup saw both William Smith and Ithaca put up impressive numbers. The Herons combined for 38 kills (.157) as a team compared to the Bombers' 38 (.290). William Smith held a 37-33 advantage in assists and a 39-36 edge in digs, but Ithaca found crucial points from the service line and its block, combining for eight blocks and 10 aces compared to the Herons four blocks and three aces.
Junior Emily Fulton led William Smith with 10 kills (.250), and six digs, while first-year Cassidy Breuer added nine kills (.000), nine digs, one block and one ace in the loss. Junior Arielle Newsome chipped in nine kills (.333) and three blocks out of the middle, while first-year Senya Dorny added six kills (.250), one assist and one solo block for the Herons. Defensively, junior libero Kali Vanderhoof led William Smith with 14 digs.
Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu led Ithaca with 11 kills (.200), seven digs, three service aces and one assist in the sweep. Addison Leadbetter chipped in 10 kills (.625), seven blocks and one ace for the Bombers. Wesley Slavin tallied a team-high 19 assists, four service aces, four digs and two blocks in the win.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- The opening set saw William Smith and Ithaca trade the early points until Ithaca went on a late run to grab set one. The Herons put down 13 kills (.229) compared to the Bombers' 15 (.314) but a big kill from Naomi Clauhs closed out set one in favor of Ithaca, 25-20.
- William Smith responded well in the second set, firing off a match-high 18 kills (.238) compared to Ithaca's 15 (.263). The Herons jumped out to an early lead, but the Bombers would respond with a 13-6 scoring run to steal the second set, 28-26.
- The third set saw Ithaca show strong form the service line, serving up five aces and forcing the Herons out of system often. The Bombers used that momentum and closed out the sweep with a 25-12 win in set three.
MATCH STATS:
- Fulton led William Smith with 10 kills (.250), while Breuer (.000) and Newsome (.333) added nine kills each in the loss. Dorny chipped in six kills (.250), while first-year Sage Duerr added three kills (.250) out of the middle.
- Junior setter Delainy Williams tallied a match-high 31 assists and added six digs, two service aces and one kill for the Herons.
- William Smith combined for 39 digs as a team and were led by Vanderhoof with 14. Breuer added nine digs, while Fulton and Williams chipped in six each. Sophomore Lily Wittgraefe tallied three digs, while first-year Taylor Williams chipped in one.
- The Herons served up three aces in the loss and were led by Williams with two. Breuer added one ace against the Bombers.
- The Green and White combined for four blocks against Ithaca and were led by Newsome with three. Breuer and Dorny chipped in one block each in the loss.
COACHES CORNER:
"Tonight was a really good test for our team," said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "Ithaca is a really strong program with a ton of experience and that showed tonight. One of the most amazing things about sports is the opportunity to learn from things that didn't go well. I know that this team is going to learn and respond to take us to another level. I am really excited to play Ithaca again in a month with what we can take from this match."
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 17, when it hosts Bard for a Liberty League matchup. Action between the Herons and the Raptors is set for 2 p.m. in Bristol Gymnasium.
