SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Cortland opened play at the Union College Women's Volleyball Invitational with a three-set loss to Union and a four-set defeat versus Nazareth College.

Union won a tough battle with the Red Dragons by set scores of 25-22, 25-23 and 25-23. Nazareth won 25-17 in the opening set, followed by a Cortland 26-24 win, but the Golden Flyers wrapped up the match with 25-12 and 25-21 victories. Cortland (5-6) will face St. Michael's (Vt.) and Skidmore Saturday afternoon.

Against Union (8-1), Cortland was led by freshman Janine Patora's (Salt Point/Arlington) nine kills along with 12 digs. Freshman Amanda May (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) had six kills and sophomore Melanie McGuirk (Lido Beach/Kellenberg) led the team with 19 digs. Sophomore Samantha Czeczotka (Elwood/John H. Glenn) added 16 digs and senior Mary Kelly (Guilderland) registered six blocks.

Cortland trailed 20-17 in the first set before rallying to tie the score at 21-21. The Dutchwomen, however, scored the next two points and, following a Cortland point, ended the set. The second set was tied at 20-20 before Union scored four of the next five points, and the third set was knotted at 22-22 before the hosts ended the match on a 3-1 run.

May paced Cortland versus Nazareth (6-4) with eight kills and five blocks and freshman Courtney Silberer (Centereach) had six kills. Czeczotka and Patora finished with five kills each, with Patora also recording three aces. McGuirk totaled 13 digs and Czeczotka added three blocks.

Cortland struggled offensively against the Golden Flyers, hitting only .078 for the match compared to Nazareth's .297 attack percentage. After losing the first set, the Red Dragons took advantage of seven Nazareth service errors in the second set on the way to its 26-24 victory. Nazareth rallied from an 11-4 deficit to eventually tie the set at 23-23. After the teams traded points, Cortland took the lead on a service error and won on a block by May and Czeczotka.

The Golden Flyers bounced back in the third set for an easy win, at one point extending a 6-4 lead to 18-7. In the fourth set, Cortland was within 20-19 after a May kill but gave up the next two points and got no closer than three points the rest of the way.