Union College Athletics

ITHACA, N.Y. – The fourth-seeded Union College women's volleyball team fell to top-seeded and third-ranked Ithaca College on Friday evening inside Ben Light Gymnasium in the Liberty League Tournament semifinals.

Union (19-13) saw its season end in the semifinals for the second year in a row, falling 25-21, 25-15, 25-19 to Ithaca (26-3). The Bombers will play for a fifth straight conference title on Saturday against the winner of William Smith and Vassar.

Head coach John Carroll led his team to 19 wins in his first season, coming up one victory short of Melissa DeRan's record for the most wins in a coaching debut season for Union (20 wins in 2011). During his first season at the helm, Carroll guided Union to a 7-0 start to the year, a 5-3 conference record, and its first playoff victory since 2022.

Taking on Ithaca for the first time in the Liberty League Tournament and only the second time ever in postseason play, the Garnet Chargers hung tough all match long against a Bombers squad that has not lost a match since late September. On its current 19-match winning streak, Ithaca has only dropped five sets. 

Junior Kayla Martinez Cartagena paced the road team with nine kills, and senior Maddie McCarron and first-year Johanna Melhorn produced three block assists and a block solo each. First-year Vanessa Morgan had 12 digs and no reception errors, and junior Allie Kronenberg finished her third season in Schenectady with 848 assists. Her 2,710 career assists are the fifth-most in program history, 226 behind Suzy Barbaritz for fourth all-time. She also maintained her place as the program's all-time leader in assists per set at 8.63 for her career.
 
Kronenberg produced 24 of Union's 28 assists on Friday, including a match-high 10 in the first set. She helped set up Martinez Cartagena for four kills in the first as Union battled the Bombers close in the opener. Martinez Cartagena had a kill and a service ace early as Union led 3-2, but a pair of five-point rallies from the home team created enough space between the two sides for Ithaca to roll to a first-set victory.

Union posted its best hitting percentage of the match in the second, putting down 11 kills on 29 swings with four errors. Ithaca matched Union's strong performance with an even stronger one, hitting .452 in a 25-15 win.

The Garnet Chargers frustrated the Bombers in the third, forcing nine Ithaca attack errors thanks in part to seven total blocks. Kronenberg and Melhorn had three block assists each, as five Garnet Chargers in total registered at least one block. 

Despite Union's stout defense, the Bombers still were able to advance to the championship match via a sweep. The Bombers used a six-point rally to pull ahead after a 13-13 tie, and Wesley Slavin put Union away for good with only her second kill of the night. Ithaca's setter did produce 34 assists, guiding Naomi Vlauhs to a match-high 12 kills.

Union's senior class finishes their careers with 73 wins, which is Union's best four-year stretch since winning 82 from 2015-2018.
 
McCarron wrapped up her four years in the Electric City with the third-best career attack percentage and 10th-best blocks-per-set figure. Her 331 career total blocks are also the 10th-most all-time from a Union player.