CORTLAND, N.Y. - The SUNY Cortland women's volleyball team won its second straight State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title and its 18th overall with a straight-set victory over SUNY New Paltz in the championship match at Corey Gymnasium.

Cortland, the 18th-ranked team nationally in Division III, upped its record to 39-1 and earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Div. III playoffs. The Red Dragons will be making their 23rd NCAA tournament showing next week. Tournament pairings will be announced on Monday, Nov. 7.

Tournament MVP Ashley Coyle led Cortland with 20 kills and also contributed 15 digs. Joining Coyle on the all-tournament team were Cortland senior middle hitter Kaitlyn Cooper and senior libero Jaclyn Lawrence along with New Paltz’s Carrie Hack and Melinda DiGiovanna, Oneonta’s Jessica Zerega and Fredonia’s Sarah Zureck.

Cooper recorded eight kills and two blocks and Lawrence finished with a team-high 25 digs. Junior Katie Wick  totaled 14 kills and 18 digs and junior Kristen Guercio (Smithtown/Smithtown East) tallied 44 assists.

DiGiovanna and Michelle Jacobson led New Paltz with 11 kills each. Marissa King had 32 assists, while Hack and DiGiovanna finished with 27 and 23 digs, respectively.

Cortland trailed 20-17 in the first set, but tied the game on an Aubrey Barrett kill, a block by Wick and Cooper and a Wick kill. Following a New Paltz timeout, the Red Dragons took 21-20 and 22-21 leads on kills by Wick. DiGiovanna tied it with a kill for the Hawks, but Cortland scored three of the final four points, capped by a kill from Coyle.

The Red Dragons used a 10-3 run to break away from a 13-13 tie in the second set. Coyle had three kills and an ace during that decisive stretch. In the third set, the teams were once again tied at 13-13 before kills by Sheena Asibey and Coyle and a block by Asibey and Barrett gave Cortland a 16-13 lead. New Paltz hung tough and trailed only 19-18 before Cortland scored five in a row to take a 24-18 lead. Wick had two kills in that run. The Hawks gamely fought off four match points before sophomore Ava Hintz, for the second straight night, put down a kill to give the Red Dragons the win and the title.

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