SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Skidmore had 12
th-ranked Ithaca on the ropes after taking the first two sets Saturday afternoon, but the nationally ranked Bombers rallied to escape the Williamson Sports Center with a 16-25, 18-25, 25-19, 25-12, 15-11 Liberty League victory.
- Skidmore (8-6, 0-2 Liberty League) came out firing, hitting .500 with 15 kills and just two errors in the opening set before following with a .345 clip in the second. The Thoroughbreds held Ithaca (12-3, 4-0) to .226 and .143 hitting in those two frames.
- Catriona Hoelperl powered a dominant first-set service run. With Skidmore ahead 11-8, Hoelperl served seven straight points, including three aces, as the Thoroughbreds surged to an 18-8 advantage. Skidmore finished the set with five aces and closed it 25-16.
- The Thoroughbreds kept the pressure on in the second. A three-point Hoelperl service run made it 13-8, and Skidmore later scored three straight behind Cece Kilroy's serve to stretch the margin to 20-12. Claire Sabo put down a kill to make it 24-16 before an Ithaca ace was followed by a Skidmore block from Sabo and Chloe Heitman to clinch the 25-18 set and a 2-0 match lead.
- Ithaca began its comeback by opening an early 9-2 advantage in the third. Skidmore later trimmed the deficit to 20-16, but the Bombers took five of the final eight points for a 25-19 win.
- The Bombers carried the momentum into the fourth, using a mid-set surge to pull away for a 25-12 victory and force a deciding fifth set.
- Skidmore went ahead 3-2 early in the fifth on a Sabo kill, but Ithaca answered with four straight points and later stretched its lead to 12-6. The Thoroughbreds mounted one final push, closing to 14-11 behind another Sabo kill, before Ithaca finished the comeback on the next point.
- Natalie Pedersen led Skidmore with 14 kills while hitting .229. Sabo was highly efficient with 12 kills against only two errors on 25 swings for a .400 hitting percentage.
- Hoelperl finished with 37 assists, 15 digs, four aces, three kills and two block assists for a double-double. Marlowe McIntyre also collected 15 digs and added two aces, while Athena Braverman had 11 digs.
- Skidmore finished with 11 service aces against the Bombers and held a 60-58 edge in digs. Ithaca finished with a .259 hitting percentage and 54 kills, led by Naomi Clauhs with 22 kills on .488 hitting.
- Nobody else had more than eight kills for the visitors. Addison Leadbetter had six blocks for Ithaca, while Wesley Slavin led with 38 assists, and Jamie Low had 14 digs.
- The match marked the first time that Skidmore pushed Ithaca to a fifth set since it joined the Liberty League prior to the 2017 season. The Thoroughbreds previously took a set from the four-time defending champion Bombers in 2023.
UP NEXT
Skidmore continues Liberty League play Friday, Oct. 9 at Union. First serve in Schenectady is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Thoroughbreds will then continue the weekend road trip Saturday afternoon at Bard.
