CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Cortland women's volleyball team finished off a 3-0 weekend on Saturday, earning straight-set wins over John Carroll, 25-13, 25-13, 25-22, and Kean, 25-13, 25-17, 27-25, in a tri-match in Corey Gymnasium. John Carroll defeated Kean in four sets in the other match of the day. Cortland improves to 7-2 on the year with the victories, while John Carroll ends the day with an 8-3 record and Kean falls to 4-6.
Jennifer Koestner (Syosset) and
Anna Pilkey (Ballston Spa) led the way for Cortland against John Carroll with 16 and 15 kills, respectively. Pilkey also chipped in 13 digs.
Ryan Hinshaw (Aurora, IL/Joliet Catholic Academy) handed out 34 assists, and added 11 digs.
Mikenzie Martens (Carthage) was the leader on defense for the Red Dragons, totaling 15 digs. At the net,
Emma Reilly (Massapequa Park/Massapequa) had eight blocks, while
Kira Pirrera (Hauppauge) had seven blocks and five kills.
Abby Bednar led John Carroll with 10 kills, while Haley Nicholson had 11 digs for the Blue Streaks.
With the score tied at 5-5 in the first set, Cortland rattled off eight straight points including a pair of kills from Pilkey and three blocks from the trio of Pirrera, Reilly, and
Alexa Guedez (Mamaroneck/Rye Neck). Cortland closed the set with four straight points to take a 25-13 win. The Red Dragons used a 12-2 run in the second set to stretch a 9-8 lead into a 21-10 advantage, including five kills by Koestner in the run. Pilkey closed the set with three kills in the last four points. Cortland trailed 12-10 in the third set, before two kills from Pilkey and an ace by Hinshaw sparked a 4-0 run. The Red Dragons led by as many as five, and Guedez finished the victory with a kill after the Blue Streaks had cut the Cortland lead to just two.
Pilkey recorded 13 kills against Kean, while Koestner had 11 kills and three aces. The duo also registered seven digs each. Hinshaw dished out 34 assists, and Martens had 15 digs. Cortland had a .245 hitting percentage as a team, and held Kean to a .100 hitting percentage.
The Cougars were led by Aubre Adams' seven kills and Madeline Dohogne's 15 digs.
Cortland jumped out to a 7-3 lead early in the first set behind a pair of aces by Koestner and kills by Hinshaw and Pilkey. Kean was unable to pull within three points, and Martens closed out the set with an ace after Koestner and Guedez had kills on the rallies before. The Red Dragons once again led early in the second set at 10-4, and stretched the lead to as many as eight in taking a 25-17 win. Cortland scored the first six points in the third set and led 11-2. Kean clawed its way back into the set, including fighting off five match points, to tie the score at 25-25. After a service error by the Cougars, Reilly and Pilkey combined for a block to close out the match with a 27-25 win in the final set.
