CORTLAND, N.Y. – Playing its final regular-season home match of the season, the Cortland women's volleyball team lost to Clarkson University in straight sets. The Golden Knights (13-4) defeated the Red Dragons (10-12) by set scores of 25-23, 25-17 and 25-18.
Senior
Ava Hintz (East Aurora) led Cortland with nine kills and a .208 attack percentage. Sophomore
Kim Givelechian (Roslyn Heights/Herricks) contributed seven kills and 16 digs and freshman
Samantha Czeczotka (Elwood/John H. Glenn) added six kills and a team-high 17 digs.
Freshman
Liz Roberts (Island Park/West Hempstead) finished with 25 assists and 12 digs and senior
Krissy Silk (Massapequa Park/Massapequa) totaled 13 digs and two aces. Junior
Mary Kelly (Guilderland) had three kills and two blocks and senior
Aubrey Barrett (Liverpool) finished with four kills.
Victoria Kirkemo led the Golden Knights with 12 kills and Xiao Liang recorded eight kills. Lani Durio dished out 34 assists and served three aces and Erika Chin led the team with 18 digs. Aishvina Arasu and Adrienne Walker posted seven kills each, with Walker also registering a team-best four blocks.
Cortland trailed 15-10 in the first set, but rallied and tied the set at 21-21 on a Barrett kill. The Red Dragons also tied the set at 22-22 on another Barrett kill and took the lead on a Kelly kill after a Clarkson over-hit. The guests, however, scored the final three points on a Kirkemo kill and two Cortland errors.
Clarkson scored the first two points in the second set and was never caught. The Golden Knights led 22-10 before Cortland mounted a rally with six straight points. Clarkson scored three of the last four points to win the set.
In the third set, Cortland trailed early before going on a run to take a 9-6 lead. Clarkson tied it at 9-9, but Cortland regained the lead on a Givelechian kill. The Golden Knights answered with an 8-1 run that featured three Durio aces and two Hutchinson kills and led 17-11. Trailing 23-15, Cortland scored three straight to close within five, but Clarkson finished the match with kills by Walker and Arasu.
Prior to the match, Cortland honored its three seniors – Barrett, Hintz and Silk.
Cortland is idle until Wednesday, Oct. 9, when it travels to Ithaca College for a 6 p.m. dual match.
