PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The Cortland women's volleyball team suffered a pair of non-league losses during the second day of competition in the Rochester area. Mount Union beat the Red Dragons in four sets, 25-21, 21-25, 25-9, 25-9, and host St. John Fisher swept the Red Dragons, 25-18, 25-23, 28-26.
Cortland falls to 7-3 with the losses. The Red Dragons return to SUNYAC play next weekend, hosting Potsdam Friday at 6 p.m. and Plattsburgh Saturday at 1 p.m.
Zoe Staats (Buchanan/Hendrick Hudson) led Cortland versus Mount Union with 14 kills and three blocks. She also had eight digs.
Allie Sturgess (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) finished with six kills and eight digs,
Caterina Mangogna (Manorville/Eastport-South Manor) and
Emma Reilly (Massapequa Park) each had five kills,
Ryan Hinshaw (Aurora, IL/Joliet Catholic Academy) distributed 19 assists, and
Carly Haegele (Commack) led the team with 16 digs.
Heaven Bartell paced Mount Union (9-3) with 10 kills. The Raiders finished with 12 aces, led by Mollie Thomas with five and Katelyn Lesko with four, and Catherine Klopp had six blocks, three solo.
Cortland's loss to St. John Fisher wrapped with tight setbacks in the second and third sets. In the second, the set was tied five times between 16-16 and 20-20. The Cardinals pushed ahead, 24-21, but Cortland scored the next two points on kills by Mangogna and Reilly before Fisher's Delayne Young ended the set with a kill. In the third set, Fisher fought off three set points at 24-22, 24-23 and 25-24. The Cardinals took a 26-25 lead, but Cortland answered with an
Alexa Guedez (Rye/Rye Neck) kill to tie the score. Fisher, however, scored the final two points on a block by Sydney French and Lindsey DeBonis and a Cortland attack error.
Staats paced Cortland with eight kills and added three blocks.
Julia Pugliese (Wantagh) finished with six kills and four blocks, Guedez had six kills and three blocks, and Reilly had five kills and four blocks.
Megan McMahon (Ballston Spa) posted a team-high 16 assists along with two aces, Haegele served three aces and had 16 digs, and
Meadow Wittman (Colden/Springville Griffith Institute) added 12 assists and five digs.
Young led St. John Fisher (5-4) with nine kills. Reilly Morrow ended with 16 assists and Olivia Nellis had three blocks.
