SWARTHMORE, PA. – Cortland opened play at the Swarthmore Invitational with two victories Friday evening, defeating Rowan in four sets, 23-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-17, and sweeping Redlands in three sets, 25-20, 25-17, 25-21.

Cortland (7-3) will continue action Saturday with matches against Swarthmore and Arcadia.

Nicole Van Pelt (Montgomery/Valley Central) led a balanced offensive attack for the Red Dragons versus Rowan with 11 kills and a .429 attack percentage. Nadia Moore (Durham, NC/Durham School of the Arts) and Hannah Southcott (Princeton, WV) had 10 kills each and Maya Owens (Nyack) and Camryn Anderson (Bronx/Cardinal Spellman) had seven kills apiece.

Carly Haegele (Commack) led Cortland with 33 digs, followed by Southcott with 23 digs. Anderson posted a team-high five blocks, followed by Owens with three, and Malley Bowen (Tioga/Tioga Central) had three aces and 21 assists.

Moore paced Cortland in the win over Redlands with 10 kills. Owens and Southcott had seven kills each and Bridgette Moran (Massapequa Park/St. John the Baptist) led Cortland with five blocks. Southcott was one of four Red Dragons with double-figure digs, finishing with 23, followed by Kiersten Cote (East Rockaway/Kellenberg Memorial) with 19, Haegele with 18 and Bowen with 12.