BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The Brockport volleyball team put together one of their best performances of the season on Saturday to move past Ithaca College into the Regional Final. They'll now take on Emory University at 2 p.m. tomorrow for a chance to travel to Osh Kosh, Wisc. for the Elite 8 and Final 4 rounds of the NCAA tournament.
The Golden Eagles were firing on all cylinders against a tough Ithaca team, sweeping the Bombers while winning each set by at least a five point margin. They outpaced Ithaca in every statistical category including from the service line where they served eight aces to their opponents two.
Brockport came out the gates fired up today, killing four balls in the early going and adding a block to open up an 8-3 lead and force an Ithaca timeout. They kept their foot on the gas on the other side of the timeout, extending the lead to 11-3 behind some tough serving by Jamie Schlesinger. The Bombers kept it close for most of the remainder of the set, but Brockport closed them out when Emma Stoltz and Kelly Waters teamed up for two huge blocks to give the Eagles a 25-16 set one victory.
After a back-and-forth beginning to the second frame that saw the teams even at 8-8, the Brockport offense came alive again, winning the next four points to take a four point lead that would stand for the rest of the set. Ithaca kept it close, only trailing by three at 17-14 before Sam Holdredge served three straight points to all but seal the deal in the set. Kelly Waters finished it off, giving Brockport a 2-0 lead when she hit a dribbler off the net that fell in between Ithaca passers.
The Golden Eagles controlled most of the third set, forcing the Bombers to use both of their timeouts early while taking a commanding 14-7 lead. The Bombers would crawl back late with a three-point run that brought them to within four, but Brockport was able to put the match away when Schlesinger bombed a right side attack off an Ithaca defender and out.
As a team, the Golden Eagles hit at a .290 clip, led by Holdredge and Stoltz who combined for 25 kills while each hitting over .320. SUNYAC Rookie of the Year Waters hit at a .500 clip and added three block assists which was second on the squad only to Stoltz who recorded four. Waters also added a solo block, and was joined by Brianna Richardson who had two huge solo blocks as well.
Emily Flohr has been extremely effective as a serving specialist of late, and added another two service aces in today's match. Maddy Taylor and Schlesinger each registered two aces as well, while Holdredge and Noelle Poloncarz both served an ace as well.
Poloncarz once again filled out her stat column, assisting in 32 Brockport kills while registering six digs and even adding two kills. Leading the team in the digs category was Kathleen Irwin, who continues to shine in the libero role, anchoring the Brockport defense with 13 total digs.
For the third straight day, BSG will have free tickets available for the first 200 students that pick them up.
For more information on tickets, and to stay up to date on all your Golden Eagle scores and awards, be sure to follow @BportAthletics on Twitter and like the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.