The Bard College women's volleyball team tussled with the #13 Ithaca Bombers on the road on Friday evening, 12-25, 13-25, 12-25. It was the first time since 2017 that Bard won at least 12 points in each set.
Isis Pribble led the Raptors with five kills and a block, adding six digs. Penelope Joosten Lingo reached a team-high seven digs. Fernanda Julian had ten assists, four digs, an ace, and a kill. Xenia Vassou tallied four kills on .250 hitting, an ace, and a dig. Alex Beer and Nala Roman each contributed four kills.
Julian started out the match with an ace, gaining an early lead. Ithaca went on a 7-2 run, but Bard didn't back down. The Raptors won four straight points to tie it at 7-7. Then, the Bombers went on a 14-3 run to go up by 11 and force a Bard timeout. Beer and Roman had back-to-back kills after the break, but Ithaca ended the set on a 4-0 surge.
A hot start by the Raptors to begin the second set made it 3-0. At 4-2, Ithaca turned the tide with three straight of its own to take the lead. At 6-6, the Bombers went on a 17-5 run to take a 23-11 lead. Beer had kills for Bard on two of the next three points, but Ithaca closed it out on the second set point.
The Bombers had the quick start in the third set, going up 5-0 and 11-2. At 12-3, the Raptors chipped away, winning three of the next four points to cut it to seven at 13-6. Ithaca won three in a row to gain a 16-6 advantage, but Bard answered with three in a row of its own. However, Bard could not get within seven, dropping the match.
Bard will travel to Rochester to face RIT and Fredonia tomorrow at 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. respectively.
