ITHACA, N.Y.—The second-seeded William Smith volleyball team dropped a thrilling four-set matchup to top-seeded Ithaca this evening in the Liberty League title match. With the loss, the Herons fall to 19-7 on the season, while the No. 3 Bombers improve to 27-3 overall and earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championships.
The thrilling conference championship match saw both William Smith and Ithaca put up impressive numbers. The Bombers put down 55 kills (.262) compared to the Herons' 44 (.138) and held a 50-38 advantage in assists in the win. Ithaca also held a 57-50 edge in blocks and an 11-5 advantage in blocks, but William Smith held an 8-6 edge in service aces in the championship matchup.
Senior Maren Hunt led the Herons with 14 kills (.333) and one assist in the four-set thriller. Junior Arielle Newsome (.292) and first-year Cassidy Breuer (.059) chipped in nine kills each for William Smith. Newsome added one block, one dig and one service ace, while Breuer recorded five digs, two service aces and two blocks.
Junior Emily Fulton added five kills (.033), nine digs, one block and one service ace, while first-year Sage Duerr chipped in three kills (.091), four blocks and one dig out of the middle. First-year setter Jayden Hanson recorded a team-leading 31 assists, 11 digs, four kills (.250), one block and one service ace. Defensively, William Smith was led by junior libero Kali Vanderhoof's 16 digs, four assists and two aces.
Ithaca was led by Naomi Clauhs' 18 kills (.378), three digs and two blocks. Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu added 11 kills (.154), 14 digs and one ace, while Wesley Slavin chipped in 47 assists, seven digs and four blocks.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- The thrilling title match began early with both William Smith (.135) and Ithaca (.167) putting down 12 kills each in set one. The Bombers grabbed the early momentum and took a 22-16 lead before the Herons stormed back and forced the set into extra points. A strong service run from Hanson resulted in a 6-0 scoring run for William Smith and a big kill from Hunt closed out set one in favor of the Herons, 26-24.
- Ithaca bounced back in set two, putting down 11 kills (.357) with only one error as William Smith recorded 10 kills (.129) and six hitting errors. The Bombers used a scrappy defense along with an efficient offense to even the score at 1-1 after winning set two, 25-17.
- The Bombers continued on their momentum in set three, putting down 15 kills (.225) compared to the Herons' 11 (.122). Ithaca opened up set three on a 6-1 scoring run and never looked back. It used several scoring runs to extend its lead, resulting in a 25-20 win for the Bombers in set three.
- The back-and-forth battle continued in set four as William Smith and Ithaca traded the games momentum. The Herons put down 11 kills (.167) in the final set but were matched by a strong Bomber offense that went for 17 kills (.324) to close out the title win. Despite a late push by William Smith, Ithaca closed out the thrilling conference matchup with a 25-20 win in set four.
MATCH STATS:
- Hunt paced the Herons with 14 kills (.333), while Breuer (.059) and Newsome (.292) chipped in nine kills each in the loss. Fulton added five kills (.033), while Hanson tallied four (.250). Duerr recorded three kills (.250) in the four-set battle.
- Hanson led William Smith from the setter position and recorded 31 assists, 11 digs, four kills (.250), one service ace and one block.
- The Herons combined for 50 digs as a team and were led by Vanderhoof's 16. Hanson chipped in 11 while Fulton added nine. Breuer and sophomore Madilyn Kresl added five digs each, while junior Delainy Williams added two in the setback.
- William Smith served up eight aces in the loss and were led by Breuer and Vanderhoof with two each. Hanson, Fulton, Williams and Newsome added one ace each this afternoon.
- The Green and White combined for five total blocks and were led by Duerr with four. Breuer added two while Newsome, Fulton and Hanson added one block each against the Bombers.
COACHES CORNER:
"I am so proud of the way that our team competed today," said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "Ithaca is an excellent program, and we battled the whole way through the match. We showed heart, grit, and love for the game. We are peaking at the right time, and I'd hate to see us this upcoming week!"
UP NEXT:
The 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship's 64-team bracket will be revealed on Monday, Nov. 16. The selection show will begin at 1 p.m. William Smith will wait to see if it receives one of the 21 at-large bids into the tournament.
