POTSDAM, N.Y. - Cortland rebounded from a 2-1 deficit for the second straight match and the Red Dragons defeated host Clarkson in five sets, 30-28, 16-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-10, to open play at the North Country Challenge.
Cortland (22-3) will face Keuka Saturday at 11 a.m. at Clarkson, followed by an 11-mile trip to Canton to play at St. Lawrence at 2:30 p.m.
Olivia Doorley (Pearl River) led Cortland with a career-high 18 kills, followed by
Nicole Van Pelt (Montgomery/Valley Central) with 12 kills and
Alexa Guedez (Rye/Rye Neck) and
Maya Owens (Nyack) with nine apiece.
Caterina Mangogna (Manorville/Eastport-South Manor) added six kills. Doorley also amassed 13 digs, Guedez had four blocks and Owens ended with three blocks.
Ryan Hinshaw (Aurora, IL/Joliet Catholic Academy) totaled 26 assists, two aces and 15 digs,
Meadow Wittman (Colden/Springville Griffith Institute) had 19 assists, three aces and 12 digs, and
Danielle Fisk (Honeoye Falls/Honeoye Falls-Lima) led the team with six blocks.
Carly Haegele (Commack) finished with 28 digs and
Mikenzie Martens (Carthage) had a career-best 17 digs.
Gillian Kurtic led Clarkson (16-9) with 20 kills and Kristin Werdine had 10 kills and 23 digs. Isabelle Crow led the Golden Knights with 48 assists and Emma Baxter totaled 37 digs.
Cortland, two days removed from a five-set home win versus Ithaca, thwarted three potential Clarkson set points in the first stanza before eventually winning the set on back-to-back kills by Doorley. The Red Dragons trailed 13-11 in the second set before Clarkson scored six of the next seven points and was never threatened.
The key run in the third set was a seven-point streak by Clarkson that turned Cortland's 15-13 lead into a 20-15 lead for the hosts. The Red Dragons scored the next two points, but Clarkson answered with four in a row to take control. Cortland started strong in the fourth set with a 7-1 lead before the Golden Knights rallied back to with a point at 12-11. Cortland scored six of the next seven points, including kills by Owens, Guedez and Doorley, and led by at least six the rest of the way.
Cortland never trailed in the fifth set, but Clarkson kept things close throughout. The Knights closed a 10-5 deficit to 12-10 after an Allyson Treichel kill, but Cortland tallied the final three points on kills by Guedez and Fisk, and a combined block by Fisk and Mangogna, to win the match.
