ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Cortland women's volleyball team couldn't overcome an early two-set deficit as the Red Dragons lost at Nazareth in four sets in a non-league match. The Golden Flyers defeated Cortland 25-20, 25-13, 21-25, 25-21.

Freshman Janine Patora (Salt Point/Arlington) led Cortland (10-17) with 10 kills and was second on the team with 13 digs. Junior Sydney Hayward (Trumansburg) had seven kills, a .333 attack percentage and three blocks and junior Kayla Pollock (Massapequa) finished with six kills.

Senior Mary Kelly (Guilderland) ended with four kills and just one error in six attempts for a .500 attack percentage and added three blocks. Freshman Amanda May (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) led the team with four blocks, three solo, and freshman Ashley Ruggiero (Smithtown/Smithtown East) registered a team-high 17 digs.

Sophomores Melanie McGuirk (Lido Beach/Kellenberg) and Liz Roberts (Island Park/West Hempstead) each had 10 digs. McGuirk also served three aces and Roberts finished with 27 assists.

Nazareth (20-6) had four players with double-figure kills, led by Jennifer Hicks with 14 and Kassandra Buseck with 11. Olivia Harrigan and Maria Allocco totaled 10 kills each and Madi Wickens finished with 40 assists. Hicks led the Golden Flyers with four aces and Buseck had five blocks.

Cortland was within 18-16 in the first set after a Kelly kill and a block by Kelly and Roberts, but Nazareth scored four of the next five points and pulled away. The hosts used a 6-1 run in the second set to turn an 8-6 lead into a 14-7 advantage and were never seriously threatened.

Trailing 6-5 in the third set, Cortland mounted a 12-1 run to go up 17-7. The lead eventually grew to 24-13 before Nazareth tallied eight consecutive points to pull within 24-21, but Jessie Allen's (Syracuse/West Genesee) kill ended the set. In the fourth set, the teams were tied 17-17 and Cortland was still down only one at 20-19 before three straight points, two on a kill and ace from Allocco, helped Nazareth pull away.

Cortland returns to action next Friday and Saturday in Plattsburgh for the third and final SUNYAC regular-season weekend. The Red Dragons face Brockport Friday at 7 p.m., Plattsburgh Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and Buffalo State Saturday at 3 p.m. Cortland is currently tied with Brockport, Oswego and Oneonta for fourth place in the league with 3-3 records. The top six teams qualify for the SUNYAC tournament.