CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Cortland women's volleyball team lost a tightly contested three-set match to visiting Ithaca College in non-league action at Corey Gymnasium. The Bombers defeated the Red Dragons 25-22, 25-19 and 25-23.

Cortland (8-14) was led in the setback by junior Sydney Hayward's (Trumansburg) 12 kills and .526 attack percentage. She committed only two errors in 19 attempts. Junior Kayla Pollock (Massapequa) finished with 11 kills and senior Mary Kelly (Guilderland) had 10 kills and four blocks. Kelly made just one attack error in 19 attempts for a .474 attack percentage.

Sophomore Liz Roberts (Island Park/West Hempstead) finished with 38 assists for nearly 13 assists per set. Sophomore Melanie McGuirk (Lido Beach/Kellenberg Memorial) paced the team with 20 digs.

Rylie Bean led Ithaca (15-3) with 19 kills and a .515 attack percentage and Joelle Goldstein contributed 10 kills and a .333 attack percentage. Kayla Gromen totaled 41 assists.

Cortland let early leads slip away in each set. The Red Dragons led 4-1 in the opening set and were up 7-5 when Ithaca scored five straight points, two on Bean kills, to go ahead 10-7. Cortland was within 19-17 after two Kelly kills, but Ithaca came out of a timeout and scored on kills by Bean and Caroline Gerulskis.

After Cortland called timeout, Gromen's ace pushed the Bombers' lead to 22-17. Cortland got back to within 23-21 after Pollock and Hayward kills and were still within two at 24-22 on an Amanda May (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) kill before a Goldstein kill ended the set for Ithaca.

Cortland led 4-1 and 6-4 in the second set before Ithaca went on an 8-1 run to go up 12-7. Bean had two kills and Katie Hartman and Goldstein each had a kill and assisted block in that stretch. The Red Dragons got no closer than three points the rest of the set.

The Red Dragons led 10-6 in the third set after a Pollock kill, but Ithaca clawed back and eventually tied the set at 13-13. Ithaca eventually took a 22-18 lead before Cortland responded with three straight points to close to within 22-21.

A block by Siobhan Sorensen gave Ithaca a 23-21 edge, but Hayward notched a kill on the next sequence. The teams then traded kills before Goldstein's kill ended the set and the match.

Cortland will host SUNYAC conference play Friday and Saturday, Oct. 10-11. The Red Dragons will face Geneseo Friday at 5 p.m. and will play Fredonia and Oswego Saturday at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. Oneonta and Potsdam are also among the six schools competing at Cortland in three matches apiece over the weekend.