Kaitlyn Cooper registered 13 kills with no errors in 21 attempts in Cortland's win over Stockton
CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Cortland women's volleyball team advanced to the championship round of its own 12-team Red Dragon Classic with two pool-play victories during the opening day of competition. Cortland swept Buffalo State, 25-21, 25-16, 25-16, and won in four sets against defending New Jersey Athletic Conference champion Stockton, 25-21, 25-15, 15-25, 25-17.
Cortland, which is among the “others receiving votes” section in the AVCA Div. III preseason poll, will play Nazareth in the semifinals Saturday at 10 a.m. Rochester and Skidmore will meet in the other semifinal at 12 p.m. The third-place match follows at 2 p.m. and the title match is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Senior
Sheena Asibey (Brentwood) led Cortland versus Buffalo State with 13 kills and a .550 attack percentage. Junior
Katie Wick (Cortland/Homer) finished with 12 kills, a .478 attack percentage and seven digs.
Junior
Kristen Guercio (Smithtown/Smithtown East) recorded 36 assists, wile senior
Jaclyn Lawrence (Marilla/Iroquois Central) and sophomore
Aubrey Barrett (Liverpool) shared the team lead with 12 digs apiece.
Senior
Kaitlyn Cooper (Webster/Webster Schroeder) paced the Red Dragons versus Stockton with a .619 attack percentage. She totaled 13 kills and had no errors in 21 attempts. Senior
Ashley Coyle (Mt. Hope/Minisink Valley) recorded 14 kills and Asibey finished with eight kills. Asibey and Cooper each amassed four blocks.
Guercio dished out 40 assists and added 10 digs over the four-set match. Lawrence led the squad with 18 digs, followed by Wick's 14 digs.
Cortland has won 15 of the previous 26 Red Dragon Classics, but has not captured the title since winning four in a row from 2003-06. The Red Dragons were third last year, fourth in 2009 and second in 2008.
This year's Red Dragon Classic features four teams that won conference titles and made NCAA tournament appearances in 2010. Cortland won the SUNYAC title, Stockton was the NJAC champ, Ithaca won the Empire 8 and Lebanon Valley was the Commonwealth Conference champion.
Tournament Results/Schedule
