GENEVA, N.Y. – The Cortland women's volleyball team finished first at the William Smith Heron Invitational, completing a 3-0 weekend with a four-set win over Stevens Institute and a three-set sweep of St. John Fisher during Saturday's action. The Red Dragons have won five straight matches and are 10-2 on the season.
Anna Pilkey (Ballston Spa) was named the tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates
Mikenzie Martens (Carthage) and
Alexa Guedez (Mamaroneck/Rye Neck), along with Kaylene Noble and Kiera Hartpence from St. John Fisher, Madison Sappia from Stevens and Elaina Wamhoff of William Smith.
Cortland began Saturday with a 25-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-12 win over Stevens.
Giovanna Rossi (Nichols/Tioga Central) led the Red Dragons with 14 kills and a .440 attack percentage. Pilkey ended with 12 kills, 15 digs and two aces,
Allie Sturgess (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) finished with 11 kills and nine digs, and
Kira Pirrera (Hauppauge/Smithtown West) contributed 10 kills and four blocks.
Ryan Hinshaw (Aurora, IL/Joliet Catholic Academy) and
Meadow Wittman (Colden/Springville Griffith Institute) finished with 23 and 21 assists, respectively, with Hinshaw also serving two aces and Wittman registering 12 digs. Guedez had four blocks, two solo, along with two aces,
Emma Reilly (Massapequa Park/Massapequa) added three blocks, Martens had 15 digs and two aces and
Madelyn McCormack (Remsen) served two aces.
As a team, Cortland finished with a .315 attack percentage (54 kills, 15 errors in 124 attempts), including a .400 mark in the first and fourth sets and a .316 percentage in the second.
Elle Maggio and Liz Patterson led Stevens (5-4) with 11 kills each. Molly Harris handed out 24 assists and Bailey Axelrad finished with 17 digs.
Cortland never trailed in first and fourth sets. The second set featured six ties and three lead changes. Cortland trailed 16-15 in that set before going on a 6-1 run to take control.
The Red Dragons closed the tournament with a 25-16, 29-27, 25-22 win over St. John Fisher. Pilkey paced Cortland with 14 kills along with 10 digs and three aces. Guedez had seven kills and five blocks, Sturgess totaled seven kills and 13 digs, and
Emalee Ballou (Eden) added four kills. Wittman rang up 20 assists and three aces and Hinshaw distributed 15 assists. Martens ended with 18 digs and Rossi had three blocks.
St. John Fisher (4-8) was led by Noble with 12 kills and three blocks and Reilly Morrow with 19 assists.
The first set featured 11 ties, the last at 12-12. Cortland finished the set on a 9-1 run to pull away from a slight 16-15 lead. The nail-biting second set was tied 15 times and the lead changed hands 12 times. Cortland fought off six set points – the first four after trailing 24-20 on two kills by Pilkey, one by Ballou and another by Pilkey. Cortland also escaped from 25-24 and 27-26 deficits with Pilkey kills, and the Red Dragons won the set after two Fisher misplays. Cortland used a 6-0 run to take a 23-15 lead in the third. Fisher got back to within 24-22 before a Ballou kill ended the match.
