CORTLAND, N.Y. –
Hannah Southcott (Princeton, WV) recorded 18 kills and
Alexa Guedez (Rye/Rye Neck) and
Nicole Van Pelt (Montgomery/Valley Central) added 10 kills each as Cortland defeated Brockport, the defending SUNYAC champion, in four sets at Corey Gymnasium.
The Red Dragons won 26-24, 22-25, 25-13, 25-23 to improve to 12-2 overall and 4-0 in the SUNYAC. Brockport, which won the last league tournament that was contested in 2019, is now 9-5 overall and 0-2 in the league. Cortland will host Geneseo, the 2019 SUNYAC regular-season champion, Saturday at 1 p.m.
Southcott hit at a .294 clip and added 18 digs to her 18 kills. Guedez finished at .412 with three errors in 17 attempts, and she led the Red Dragons with seven blocks, including five solos. Van Pelt registered eight digs and two blocks along with her 10 kills.
Also for the Red Dragons,
Ryan Hinshaw (Aurora, IL/Joliet Catholic Academy) and
Meadow Wittman (Colden/Springville Griffith Institute) each had 18 assists. Wittman served three aces, including the match-deciding point.
Carly Haegele (Commack) led Cortland with 21 digs and
Olivia Doorley (Pearl River) has 12 digs.
Brockport was led by Meaghan Mastro and Andrea Coyle with 15 and 13 kills, respectively, and Krysti McDonald with nine kills. Kerri McHale ended with 29 assists, 19 digs and three aces, Shelby Budnick and Ellen Paddock had 16 digs each, and Coyle finished with 13 digs.
The first set was tied 12 times, including eight times from 16-16 forward. Brockport fought off a set point at 24-23 on a Mastro kill, but Cortland scored the final two points on a Southcott kill and a Golden Eagles' attack error.
Brockport scored the final three points of the second set on kills by Mastro and McDonald and a Mastro ace to break a 22-22 tie. Cortland cruised in the third set, fashioning an 8-1 run to extend an 11-7 lead to 19-8.
Caterina Mangogna (Manorville/Eastport-South Manor) had two of her six kills during that stretch.
The fourth set was close throughout, with neither team holding more than a three-point lead. Brockport looked poised to force a fifth set after scoring on a Mastro kill and Madalyn Bowen ace to take a 23-21 lead. Cortland, however, scored the match's final four points. Van Pelt's kill cut the deficit to one and a Guedez solo block tied the score. Another Van Pelt kill put Cortland ahead and, following a Brockport timeout, Wittman's ace gave Cortland the win.
Cortland finished with a .203 attack percentage, which featured a .344 mark in the third and a .341 rate in the fourth. Brockport was held to a .081 team hitting percentage, with its best mark a .130 in the second.
