The St. Lawrence University women's volleyball team fell 3-1 to Cortland Friday evening in non-conference volleyball action at Burkman Gymnasium.
The loss drops the Saints' record to 4-20 on the season, while the visiting Red Dragons improved to 21-3. It was Cortland's ninth win in a row, as the formidable squad embarks on a playoff run after going 9-0 in conference play to win a SUNYAC banner.
Despite dropping the contest, head coach
Shelly Roiger was proud of her team's effort, as they battled hard against a team that consistently has received votes in the AVCA/TARAPLEX coaches' poll.
"Cortland is one of the best teams in the region and I thought out grittiness and aggressive confidence in each other was the best it's been all season," said Roiger after the game.
The Saints trailed the whole way through the first set, but got the score to 19-18 Cortland before the Red Dragons rattled off six straight points for the set win. The second set saw St. Lawrence similarly stick around, staying tied 16-16 late in the set until a late 9-2 run sunk the Saints.
The Saints found their way back into the game in the fourth set, after jousting with Cortland and trading the lead multiple times. St. Lawrence had the first set point at 24-23, but the Red Dragons extended the match and had a set point of their own at 26-25. The Saints ultimately won it on a
Sofia Velasquez service ace.
However, Cortland struck back in the fourth set, overtaking the Saints 25-17 to win the match 3-1.
First-year
Araiza Acum-Santos led the team with 19 kills.
Vanessa Latam offered up 33 assists and 12 digs throughout the evening. Additionally, Saints players
Kori Meissner,
Katrina Henrich and
Vivian Zymeck all scored over 10 digs each.
Cortland's Lexy Bloss and Alexa Guedez scored over 13 kills each. Anna Pilkey had 12 digs and Mikenzie Martens scored 19 digs.
The Scarlet and Brown have one more chance to better their record before the season ends. The Saints will have their final match of the season Saturday, Nov. 4 at 7:30 pm in their home court at the Burkman Gymnasium. They will play against the Potsdam Bears.
