CORTLAND, N.Y. - Junior
Samantha Czeczotka (Elwood/John H. Glenn) registered 13 kills and 11 digs and sophomore
Nicole Silberer (Centereach) added 11 kills as Cortland swept Scranton, 25-18, 26-24, 25-23, in a non-league women's volleyball match at Corey Gymnasium.
Cortland improved to 4-7 with the victory while handing the Royals only their third loss in 13 matches this fall.
Czeczotka finished with 13 kills and three errors in 28 attempts for a .357 attack percentage. Junior
Vanessa Carmesin (Leverkusen, Germany/Landrat-Lucas Gymnasium) has 25 assists in two sets and junior
Melanie McGuirk (Lido Beach/Kellenberg) led the Red Dragons with 24 digs.
In addition, sophomore
Courtney Silberer (Centereach) added seven kills and 10 digs and sophomore
Amanda May (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) served three of Cortland's nine aces.
Scranton featured a balanced attack led by Stephanie Klug's six kills. Kristin Kirwan, Lizzy Zimmerman, Morgan Rentzheimer and Rachael Cisto had five kills each and Brittany Cafiero dished out 24 assists.
Cortland scored the final five points in the first set to pull away from a 20-18 lead. Freshman
Deja Smith (Suffern) scored the set's final two points on kills. Cortland only trailed once in the set, at 1-0, and led 16-10 before Scranton rallied to make it close.
The Red Dragons held a 17-10 lead in the second set after a
Nicole Silberer kill, but the Royals fought back and eventually tied the set at 18-18 on a Klug kill. Cortland responded with a 4-1 run, including a kill and ace by May, to go up 22-19, and led 24-22 after a Czeczotka kill. Scranton fought off two set points on a service error and a Rentzheimer kill, but following a timeout Cortland closed the set with kills by
Nicole Silberer and May.
In the third set, Cortland used its second and final timeout of the set after falling behind 12-6, but responded from that point to score eight of the next nine points to take a 14-13 lead. The teams basically traded points the rest of the way and were tied at every interval from 13-13 to 23-23. Cortland tied the set at 23 on a May kill and, after Scranton called timeout, took the lead on a block by May and Carmesin.
Nicole Silberer's kill ended the set and the match.
Cortland will play at Hamilton College on Friday at 6 p.m. and will participate in a tri-match at Middlebury College on Saturday. The Red Dragons will face Middlebury at 1:30 p.m. and Colby-Sawyer from New Hampshire at 3:30 p.m.
