CORTLAND, N.Y. – The top-seeded Cortland women's volleyball team advanced to the SUNYAC Tournament finals with a 25-16, 25-13, 26-24 win over fifth-seeded Buffalo State in a semifinal match at Corey Gymnasium.
Cortland (23-7) will face second-seeded Oswego in the championship match Saturday at 4 p.m. The Red Dragons are looking to claim their fifth straight conference title. Oswego swept New Paltz, 25-19, 25-14, 25-18 in Friday's second semifinal match to earn its second-ever trip to the SUNYAC championship match. The Lakers lost to Brockport in five sets in the 1994 conference finals.
Emalee Ballou (Eden) led Cortland with 11 kills and just two errors in 22 attempts for a .409 attack percentage.
Kira Pirrera (Hauppauge/Smithtown West) also recorded 11 kills and finished with a .280 attack percentage, two aces, nine digs and three blocks.
Lauren Millspaugh (Trumansburg/Charles O. Dickerson) ended the match with seven kills and one error in 12 attempts (.500 attack percentage).
Erica Arroyo (Nesconset/Smithtown West) finished with seven kills and one error in 25 attempts (.240) and
Sanaiya Whitted (Poughkeepsie/Franklin D. Roosevelt) finished with six kills and a .250 attack percentage.
Also for the Red Dragons,
Melissa O'Connor (Hauppauge) and
Samantha Rodriguez (Camarillo, CA/Adolfo Camarillo) each handed out 19 assists. O'Connor also had three aces and six digs.
Bianca Sapano (Floral Park/Kellenberg Memorial) matched O'Connor for team honors with three aces,
Alyssa Rich (Rochester/Churchville-Chili) finished with a team-best 15 digs, and
Emma Reilly (Massapequa Park/Massapequa) tied Pirrera with three blocks.
Buffalo State (15-16) was led by Nicole Delli Colli with seven kills and Delia Lake and Ella Wittman with five kills apiece. Wittman also served three aces. Karlie Shaffer had nine assists and seven digs, and Delaney McCarthy recorded three blocks.
Cortland finished with a .266 team attack percentage, highlighted by a .429 mark (16 kills, four errors in 28 attempts) in the second set. Buffalo State finished at .054 with 22 kills and 17 errors in 92 attempts.
Cortland led 12-11 in the first set before scoring three straight points, and its lead was at least three after that. The key run in the second set was a 7-0 streak that extended an 8-6 lead to 15-6. In the third set, Cortland led 23-19 before the Bengals fought back, eventually tying the score at 24-24 on kills by Delli Colli and Lake. Following a timeout, the Red Dragons won the next point on a Pirrera kill, then won the set and the match on a Buffalo State attack error.
