Potsdam, NY - With steady serving, including a run of four aces within five points by Becca Borquist in the second set, fourth-seeded New Paltz swept top-seeded Cortland out of the Division III NCAA New York Volleyball Regionals with a 25-19, 25-13, 25-21 victory in the semifinal round Saturday afternoon at Clarkson University's Alumni Gymnasium.
The Hawks improved to 34-8 on the season and will take on the winner of Middlebury/Clarkson at 2:30 pm in the NCAA NY Regional Finals on Sunday. The Red Dragons saw their season end with a mark of 34-6.
The two SUNYAC foes met twice during the regular season with each earning a win, so the Hawks were not at all starstruck by the Red Dragons, last year's NCAA NY Regional winner. New Paltz took advantage of Cortland errors in the early going, especially after taking a timeout in the first set when trailing by three points (18-15). Five consecutive errors gave the Hawks the lead, and they finished out the set by taking 10 of the final 11 points for a 25-19 victory.
Not ready to settle on a first-set victory, New Paltz came out aggressive, especially on the service line. With the score tied 2-2 after a Hawks block, Borquist took the back line and earned an ace to give the Hawks the lead, but her run would not end there as she earned three more aces to give New Paltz a six-point advantage. That stretch proved to be the difference as Cortland would never get closer than five points and the Hawks finished with a double-digit advantage in the second set.
In what would prove to be the final set, both teams traded points with nine ties taking place through the mid-point of the set. However, New Paltz pulled away near the end as a Katy Herbst ace put New Paltz on the verge of victory and the Hawks held on for a 25-21 win.
For the Hawks, Dana Vosilla had 11 kills against just one error in 19 swings and also added five total blocks, while Michelle Jacobson contributed 10 kills. Marissa King ran the offense with 30 assists and added four block assists. Overall, the Hawks had eight team blocks and 12 aces, keeping the Red Dragons on their heels throughout the match with solid serving.
Cortland was led by senior Ashley Coyle, who produced 12 kills in the match, but the headliner for the Red Dragons was setter Kristen Guercio. With her 31 assists, she surpassed 6,000 in her career, becoming only the ninth player in Division III history to reach that total.
