CORTLAND, N.Y. – Cortland won the first set easily but had to rally late to win the next two sets as the Red Dragons defeated visiting Misericordia, 25-13, 25-23, 25-23, in a non-league women's volleyball match. 
 
Cortland won its ninth straight match to improve to 14-2 on the season. The Cougars had their six-match win streak snapped with the loss and are now 8-9. 
 
Hannah Southcott (Princeton, WV) led the Red Dragons with 14 kills and added seven digs. Alexa Guedez (Rye/Rye Neck) finished with seven kills and just one error in 13 attempts for a .462 attack percentage, and she paced the team with three blocks. Maya Owens (Nyack) posted a .500 attack percentage with six kills and one error in 10 attempts. 
 
Ryan Hinshaw (Aurora, IL/Joliet Catholic Academy) finished with 16 assists, with Meadow Wittman (Colden/Springville Griffith Institute) adding 10 and Megan McMahon (Ballston Spa) eight. Carly Haegele (Commack) totaled 13 digs and Olivia Doorley (Pearl River) had seven. 
 
Faith Merritt led Misericordia with seven kills, Annika Massa distributed 20 assists and had a team-best 12 digs, and Alexis Hendrickson served three aces. 
 
Cortland hit .393 in the first set with 12 kills and one error in 28 attempts, but followed that with just a .150 rate in the second set and .122 in the third to finish the night at .202. Misericordia hit only .040 for the evening with 27 kills and 23 errors in 101 attempts. 
 
Cortland went on a 8-1 run to take an 18-6 lead in the opening set and was never threatened. In the second, however, Misericordia took an early 11-7 lead before the Red Dragons eventually tied the score at 15-15. The Cougars scored the next five, including two Hendrickson aces, to go up 20-15, and still held a 23-21 lead after a Fiona Pyfer kill. Cortland battled back to score the last four points of the set on kills by Southcott and Guedez, a Misericordia attack error, and another Guedez kill. 
 
The Red Dragons trailed 14-8 and 15-10 in the third set before tallying seven straight points to go up 17-15. The Cougars were up 20-19, but Guedez's kill tied it and an error gave Cortland the lead. The guests rallied from a 22-20 deficit to eventually tie the set at 23-23, but the Red Dragons posted the match's final two points on kills by Owens and Southcott. 
 
Cortland travels to Cabrini College in Pennsylvania Saturday for a non-league tri-match. The Red Dragons face Stockton at 1 p.m. and the host school at 3 p.m.