William Smith won the opening set after erasing a six-point deficit, but No. 3 Ithaca took the next three to defeat the Herons in the Liberty League volleyball championship match Saturday in Ithaca.
The top-seeded Bombers won 24-26, 25-17, 25-20, 25-20 to secure the conference’s automatic NCAA Division III tournament berth, according to HWS Athletics. Second-seeded William Smith fell to 19-7, while Ithaca improved to 27-3.
Herons rally to take the opening set
Ithaca led 22-16 in the first set before William Smith mounted its comeback. A service run by Jayden Hanson helped the Herons score six consecutive points, and Maren Hunt delivered the kill that finished the 26-24 victory.
Both teams recorded 12 kills in the opener. William Smith hit .135, while Ithaca finished at .167.
The Bombers answered with their most efficient offensive set, producing 11 kills with one attack error for a .357 hitting percentage in the second. William Smith had 10 kills and six errors as Ithaca evened the match with a 25-17 win.
Ithaca opened the third set on a 6-1 run and maintained the advantage. The Bombers finished with 15 kills to William Smith’s 11, taking the set 25-20 and moving ahead 2-1.
The teams traded momentum in the fourth, but Ithaca’s offense produced 17 kills on .324 hitting. William Smith recorded 11 kills and hit .167, making a late push before the Bombers closed out another 25-20 victory.
Hunt leads William Smith with 14 kills
Hunt paced the Herons with 14 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Arielle Newsome and Cassidy Breuer contributed nine kills apiece. Newsome hit .292 and added an ace, a dig and a block; Breuer finished with five digs, two aces and two blocks.
Emily Fulton supplied five kills, nine digs, an ace and a block. Sage Duerr added three kills and a team-leading four blocks.
Hanson finished with 31 assists, 11 digs, four kills, an ace and a block. Libero Kali Vanderhoof led William Smith with 16 digs and added four assists and two aces. Madilyn Kresl collected five digs, while Delainy Williams had two digs and an ace.
Ithaca finished with 55 kills and a .262 hitting percentage, compared with William Smith’s 44 kills and .138 mark. The Bombers led 50-38 in assists and 11-5 in blocks. The Herons held an 8-6 advantage in aces and collected 50 digs.
Naomi Clauhs led Ithaca with 18 kills on .378 hitting, along with three digs and two blocks. Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu had 11 kills, 14 digs and an ace. Wesley Slavin supplied 47 assists, seven digs and four blocks.
William Smith coach Derryk Williams praised his team’s competitive effort against Ithaca and said the Herons were playing their best volleyball as they awaited the NCAA selections.
The 64-team NCAA tournament field will be announced at 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16. William Smith will seek one of the tournament’s 21 at-large bids.
File photo: Cassidy Breuer attacks against RIT. Zack Koons/HWS Athletics.
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