Potsdam, NY - A slow start by the top seed had eighth-seeded Colby-Sawyer thinking upset early on, but number-one seed Cortland was able to steady itself midway through the opener and then cruised to a three-set victory over the Chargers, 25-19, 25-13, 25-12 in the opening round of the NCAA New York Volleyball Regionals.
The Red Dragons improved to 34-5 overall and will take on a familiar foes in SUNYAC member New Paltz on at 3:30 pm on Saturday afternoon in the NCAA NY Regional semifinals. The Chargers completed their season with a record of 18-14.
Colby-Sawyer jumped out of the gate with some solid hitting up front, taking advantage of some early jitters from the Red Dragons. The two teams were neck-and-neck, with Cortland up by just one point, 17-16, but the Red Dragons took a timeout and won three straight to gain a foothold, winning the set eventually 25-19. Both teams swung well with the Chargers hitting at a .367 clip and Cortland swining to the tune of a .400 hitting percentage.
The Chargers were unable to maintain the hectic hitting pace set by Cortland as the Red Dragons continued to run along on offense at a .367 rate through the final two sets. Colby-Sawyer had 15 kills in the final two sets combined, with 12 errors, as Cortland rode a serving streak by Krissy Silk to pull away in the final set and claim the win.
Junior middle hitter Ava Hint had 13 kills, including eight with no errors on 12 swings in the second set, to lead the Red Dragons, while Ashley Coyle had 10 kills on 23 swings. Kristen Guercio ran the offense with 32 assists while Silk had 11 digs and three aces. Hintz also contributed four aces and Coyle tossed in three as well.
For Colby-Sawyer, junior Courtney O'Hara had seven kills and just a single error on 11 swings in the match, with Laura Smolinksi coming through with 24 sets. Ally Le-Bruno led the squad with 11 digs, just one better than the setter Smolinski.
