ITHACA, N.Y. - Cortland's rally from a two-set deficit came up just short as the Red Dragons lost in five sets at Ithaca College in a non-league match.

The host Bombers won the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-21, but Cortland came back to win the next two sets, 25-23 and 26-24. Cortland led 8-7 in the fifth set before Ithaca scored the final eight points to win 15-8. Ithaca improved to 19-1 on the season, while Cortland dropped to 8-13.

Sophomore Nicole Silberer (Centereach) led Cortland with a career-best 18 kills. She added two blocks and finished with a .293 attack percentage. Sophomore Amanda May (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) and junior Samantha Czeczotka (Elwood/John H. Glenn) totaled 11 kills apiece. May ended with a .346 attack percentage, seven blocks and two aces, while Czeczotka tallied 11 digs.

Junior Liz Roberts (Island Park/West Hempstead) recorded 45 assists, five blocks and nine digs. Sophomore Janine Patora (Salt Point/Arlington) added eight kills, three blocks and two aces and junior Melanie McGuirk (Lido Beach/Kellenberg) had a team-high 18 digs. As a team, Cortland ended the match with a season-high 12 blocks.

Ithaca featured four players with double-figure kills. Joelle Goldstein led the Bombers with 19 kills, while Katie Evans had 18 kills and only one error in 25 attempts for a .680 attack percentage. Caroline Gerulskis and Hailey Adler chipped in with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Kayla Gromen finished with 65 assists and three aces, and Amanda Cerruti led the team with seven blocks.

Ithaca used a 5-1 run in the first set to turn a 17-17 tie into a 22-18 advantage. Cortland scored the next two points, but the Bombers scored the final three on two Gromen kills sandwiched around a Gromen ace. In the second set, the hosts were holding on to an 18-16 lead before going on a 5-1 run that featured three kills and a block by Cerruti.

The third set was tied 12 times, the last at 18-18. A Roberts kill and a bad set by Ithaca put the Red Dragons up 20-18. Cortland never trailed again, but Ithaca did close to within a point five times before a block by Courtney Silberer (Centereach) and Roberts ended the set.

Cortland trailed 12-10 in the fourth set before mounting a 10-2 run to take a 20-14 lead. The Red Dragons eventually took a 24-21 lead, but Ithaca scored the next three points to tie the score at 24-24. The Bombers, however, committed a serving error and an attack error to give Cortland the last two points.

The momentum appeared to carry over into the fifth set for Cortland as it took an early 4-1 lead. Ithaca tied the score at 4-4, and Cortland eventually led 8-7 on the switch-over after a Czeczotka kill. The Bombers' final 8-0 run included two kills by Goldstein and Evans, and an Evans block ended the match.

Cortland will travel to Potsdam this weekend for three SUNYAC matches. The Red Dragons will play Fredonia Friday at 7 p.m., the host Bears Saturday at 12:30 p.m., and Geneseo at 3 p.m.