NEW PALTZ, N.Y. - The Cortland women's volleyball team won the SUNYAC Eastern Division title with a 7-1 record after splitting two matches at New Paltz during Day 2 of divisional pool play. The Red Dragons (28-3) are ranked 11th nationally in Div. III. Buffalo State won the West Division title and will host the six-team SUNYAC tournament Nov. 2-4. Cortland and Buffalo State will receive byes into the semifinals.
New Paltz defeated Cortland in a five-set thriller, 25-22, 25-21, 17-25, 17-25, 15-13. Cortland had four players record double-figure kills, led by senior
Ashley Coyle's (Mt. Hope/Minisink Valley) 17 and junior
Ava Hintz's (East Aurora) 15. Junior
Aubrey Barrett (Liverpool) and senior
Natalie Zacpal (Islip) had 13 kills apiece.
Senior
Kristen Guercio (Smithtown/Smithtown East) finished with 56 assists and 14 digs. Junior libero
Krissy Silk (Massapequa Park/Massapequa) led the team with 30 digs, Coyle added 20 digs and freshman
Kim Givelechian (Roslyn Heights/Herricks) finished with 18 digs. Barrett had 13 digs, while Hintz and Givelechian led Cortland with four blocks each.
Cortland then defeated Plattsburgh in four sets, 25-10, 23-25, 25-11, 25-17 behind Coyle's 22 kills and 14 digs. Hintz and Zacpal had 10 kills each, with Zacpal also putting down a team-best four blocks. Guercio dished out 45 assists, Hintz had three aces, Givelechian finished with a team-high 23 digs and Silk chipped in with 19 digs.
Cortland will host Elmira on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m.
