Cassady Smith had a team-high 15 digs to pace the St. Lawrence University volleyball team as they dropped a straight-set decision, 3-0 (9-25, 11-25, 19-25) in conference play against Ithaca on Saturday, falling to 13-8 overall and 2-4 in league play.

"We struggled with the size of Ithaca's block and their overall athleticism," said Saints head coach Shelly Roiger. "They have a balanced offense and their setter has my vote for Player of the Year again. Getting healthy will be a key component of next week's progress as we prepare for our final two Liberty League matches of the season."

Adeline Riesenberger earned the opening point of the game in the first set via a kill, then it was all Bombers. Ithaca strung together 10 straight points to go up by nine, and held the Saints to single digits as they went up 1-0.

St. Lawrence went down 7-1 early in the second, and the Bombers didn't let up from there going on a 9-3 run to take a 16-5 lead. They cruised to a second set victory and entered the third looking for the sweep.

St. Lawrence benefitted from early kills by Riesenberger and Bridget Gammons to go up 3-1 early, then were tied 4-4. After going down 7-4, they capitalized on some Bombers attack errors to keep the score close at 11-9. They kept the margin within single digits but fell 25-19.

Riesenberger had the team lead in kills with nine. Vanessa Latam chipped in with 17 assists. At the service line, Gammons led the way for the Scarlet and Brown with two aces.

St. Lawrence continues through their conference season, hosting games with Liberty League tournament implications against Union and Vassar. The Friday night contest is set for Friday at 7 p.m.