The Cortland women’s volleyball team will be making its third straight NCAA Division III tournament appearance and 27th overall as part of an eight-team regional hosted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. The Red Dragons (25-3) will open against Gettysburg College (23-5) in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 16, at a time to be announced.
The Cortland/Gettysburg winner will face either MIT (29-4) or Alfred (14-13) in the second round on Friday, Nov. 17. Thursday’s other first-round matchups feature Salisbury (20-7) versus Williams (16-9) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (22-5) versus UMass Dartmouth (20-6).
The regional final is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 18, and the regional champion will advance to the “elite eight” in Claremont, Calif., Wednesday through Saturday, Nov. 29-Dec. 2. Cortland has advanced to the national quarterfinals nine times, most recently in 2011.
Under fifth-year head coach Erin Glickert, the Red Dragons won their 22nd State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title this past weekend to earn an NCAA automatic bid. The top-seeded Red Dragons beat Brockport in four sets in the semifinal round and swept New Paltz in the finals to win their third straight conference crown.
Outside hitter Anna Pilkey (Ballston Spa) leads the Red Dragons with 286 kills (2.8 per set) along with 40 aces and 326 digs. Outside hitter Allie Sturgess (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) has 244 kills (2.6 per set) and 245 digs, while middle blocker Alexa Guedez (Mamaroneck/Rye Neck) has 208 kills and team-bests of a .367 attack percentage and 107 blocks.
Middle blocker Lexy Bloss (York, PA/Dallastown Area) has 144 kills, 73 blocks and a .306 attack percentage and libero Mikenzie Martens (Carthage) averages 5.0 digs per set and has 34 aces. Setter Ryan Hinshaw (Aurora, IL/Joliet Catholic Academy) leads the team with 4.7 assists per set.
Gettysburg earned an at-large “Pool C” berth into the tournament. The Bullets lost to nationally 10th-ranked Johns Hopkins in the finals of the Centennial Conference tournament.
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