SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Senior outside hitter Ashley Coyle (Mt. Hope/Minisink Valley) and senior middle hitter Sheena Asibey (Brentwood) each surpassed the career 1,000-kill mark as nationally 21st-ranked Cortland (11-0) opened the Union College Invitational with a pair of victories.

Coyle and Asibey both reached the plateau in the Red Dragons’ 25-23, 25-23, 25-17 victory over Skidmore College in the tournament opener. Coyle finished with 14 kills, 11 digs and five aces and Asibey totaled nine kills and two blocks. In Cortland’s 25-15, 25-21, 25-12 win over The Sage Colleges, Coyle totaled five kills, seven digs and two aces and Asibey had three kills, three blocks and four digs.

Asibey and Coyle are now two of only seven players in school history to reach the 1,000-kill mark. They are currently tied with 1,006 kills apiece entering Saturday’s action. While both are seniors, Coyle actually has a year of eligibility remaining. Michelle Gaufman is the career leader with 1,822 kills from 2006-09, followed by Jessica Walker’s 1,739 from 1995-98. Three other Red Dragons recorded between 1,137 and 1,222 kills.

Other Cortland leaders in the Skidmore match included sophomore Aubrey Barrett (Liverpool) with nine kills, two aces and five digs and junior Katie Wick (Cortland/Homer) with eight kills and nine digs. Junior Kristen Guercio (Smithtown/Smithtown East) finished with 40 assists, six digs and three kills, senior Kaitlyn Cooper (Webster/Webster Schroeder) had five kills and three aces and senior Jaclyn Lawrence (Marilla/Iroquois Central) led the team with 16 digs.

In the win over Sage, sophomore Ava Hintz (East Aurora) paced the Red Dragons with seven kills. Coyle, Barrett and Wick added five kills apiece. Coyle and Wick also served two aces each.

Guercio recorded 30 assists, 10 digs and two blocks and in three seasons has amassed 3,300 career assists. She ranks fifth all-time at Cortland in that category. The next player on the list has 3,566 assists, while the top three all have more than 4,200.

Sophomore Krissy Silk (Massapequa Park/Massapequa) and Lawrence finished with nine and eight digs, respectively, versus Sage. Wick had eight digs, Coyle seven and Barrett five.

Cortland will face Union at noon and Hartwick at 2 p.m. in Saturday’s predetermined action. Union and Cortland are both 2-0 thus far in the tournament.