CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Cortland women's volleyball team lost in four sets at home to William Smith in non-conference action. The match featured each team scoring at least 20 points in each set, with the visiting Herons coming out on top, 25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23. Cortland dropped to 11-5 with the loss and William Smith is now 12-2.
Statistically the teams were mainly even. William Smith finished the night with 52 kills, a .164 attack percentage, nine aces and seven team blocks, while Cortland ended with 49 kills, a .161 attack percentage, seven aces and seven team blocks.
Alexa Guedez (Mamaroneck/Rye Neck) led Cortland with 11 kills and five blocks, one solo, along with two aces. She finished with a .286 attack percentage.
Jennifer Koestner (Syosset) had 10 kills and nine digs,
Anna Pilkey (Ballston Spa) ended with nine kills and 10 digs,
Emalee Ballou (Eden) had eight kills and a .263 attack percentage, and
Kira Pirrera (Hauppauge/Smithtown West) finished with seven kills and four blocks.
Ryan Hinshaw (Aurora, IL/Joliet Catholic Academy) and
Samantha Rodriguez (Camarillo, CA/Adolfo Camarillo) handed out 22 and 15 assists, respectively.
Mikenzie Martens (Carthage) led the team with 22 digs, while Rodriguez had 10 digs.
Malya Sayre paced William Smith with 22 kills, followed by Marin Montagne with 15 kills and Hope Von Dohlen with eight. Arielle Newsome paced the Herons with seven blocks, one solo, Kali Vanderhoof had 21 digs and Delainy Williams finished with 47 assists. Cydney Fernandez led all players with three aces.
The first set featured eight ties and two lead changes. The Herons scored three straight points to break a 13-13 tie and never trailed after that. In the second set, Cortland was down 15-10 before rattling off the next five points to tie it. With the set tied 18-18, Cortland scored four in a row, two on Pilkey kills, to take control.
The third set was tied at 19-19 before a Montagne kill and a Fernandez ace gave the Herons a 21-19 lead. Cortland was within 21-20 before three straight points by the guests made it 24-20. In the fourth set, the teams were tied eight times, the last at 22-22. William Smith scored the next two points on a Cortland error and a Montagne ace. Cortland fought off one match point after a William Smith error before a Sayre kill ended the match.
