CORTLAND, N.Y. - Cortland battled nationally 19th-ranked Ithaca for much of the first and third sets but couldn't overcome a combined 29 attack and service errors in a three-set loss to the Bombers. Ithaca, a national semifinalist last season, won by scores of 25-19, 25-14 and 25-18.

Nadia Moore (Durham, NC/Durham School of the Arts) led Cortland (5-10) with 10 kills. Nicole Van Pelt (Montgomery/Valley Central) ended with seven kills and two errors in 12 attempts for a .417 attack percentage, while Bridgette Moran (Massapequa Park/St. John the Baptist) had seven kills and two errors in 13 attempts for a .385 hitting percentage.

Gabby Amelio (Pine Bush) finished with 27 assists, seven digs and two aces. Malley Bowen (Owego/Tioga Central) also totaled seven digs and two aces.

Reagan Stone led Ithaca (8-5) with 14 kills and finished with a .423 attack percentage. Katie Evans had 10 kills and no errors in 14 attempts for a .714 hitting clip. Caitlyn Floyd dished out 31 assists and served three aces and Tara Stillwell led the Bombers with 10 digs.

The teams each finished with 34 kills, but Ithaca committed only nine attack errors compared to Cortland's 19. Ithaca finished hitting .325 as a team compared to Cortland's .170 mark. Cortland also ended with 10 service errors to Ithaca's four, and the Bombers had nine aces to the Red Dragons' four.

The teams were tied 15-15 in the opening set after a kill by Moore, but Ithaca scored the next three points on a kill by Evans, a Cortland error and an Alison Lipton ace. Kiersten Cote's (East Rockaway/Kellenberg Memorial) kill but the deficit to 18-16, but Ithaca scored the next three to take control.

Ithaca used a 5-0 run in the second set to take a 10-5 lead and led by at least five points the remainder of the set. In the third, Cortland broke a 10-10 tie with a Moore kill, a block by Camryn Anderson (Bronx/Cardinal Spellman) and Van Pelt, and another kill by Moore to go up 13-10. Cortland's final lead was 15-14 after a Moran kill, and she put down another kill later to tie the set at 16-16, but Ithaca scored four of the next five points. The Bombers ended the match on a 5-0 run, capped by two Floyd aces sandwiched around a Stone kill.

Cortland will host the Cortland Invitational Friday and Saturday. The four-team tournament features Cortland, Morrisville State, RIT and Wilkes in a round-robin format. Cortland will face Morrisville Friday at 6 p.m., RIT Saturday at 11 a.m. and Wilkes Saturday at 1:30 p.m.