Cortland Volleyball to Face Merchant Marine Academy in NCAA First Round Friday at Johns Hopkins
Cortland Sports Information Department
The SUNY Cortland women's volleyball team will be making its 25th NCAA Division III tournament appearance, and its first since 2012, as part of an eight-team regional hosted by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The second-seeded Red Dragons (26-3) will open against seventh-seeded U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (22-3) in the first round on Friday, Nov. 12 at 3 p.m.
The Cortland/Merchant Marine Academy winner will face either third-seeded Tufts (18-5) or sixth-seeded Eastern (Pa.) (24-5) in the second on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Tufts and Eastern play at 12:30 p.m. Friday's other first-round matchups feature top-seeded host and 2019 NCAA Division III champion Johns Hopkins (29-0) versus eighth-seeded Cabrini (14-17) at 8 p.m. and fourth-seded Rowan (27-5) versus fifth-seeded Springfield (22-7) at 5:30 p.m., with those two winners meeting on Saturday at 5 p.m.
The regional final is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m., and the regional champion will advance to the "elite eight" at Washington University in St. Louis Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 18-20. Cortland has advanced to the national quarterfinals nine times, most recently in 2011.
Under third-year head coach Erin Glickert, the Red Dragons won their 20th State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title this past weekend to earn an NCAA automatic bid. The top-seeded Red Dragons swept New Paltz in the semifinal round and beat Geneseo in four sets in the finals. The title-match win was Glickert's 50th in just two seasons on the court at Cortland (the 2020 season was canceled).
Senior Hannah Southcott (Princeton, WV) leads Cortland with 367 kills (3.95 per set) and a .284 attack percentage and is second with 257 digs (2.8 per set) in 26 matches. Senior Nicole Van Pelt (Montgomery/Valley Central) has recorded 361 kills (3.4 per set) and a .218 attack percentage. Junior Carly Haegele (Commack) paces the Red Dragons with 528 digs (4.98 per set) and 48 aces, freshman Alexa Guedez (Rye/Rye Neck) has a team-high 111 blocks (1.1 per set) along with 156 kills, and freshman Ryan Hinshaw (Aurora, IL/Joliet Catholic Academy) and junior Meadow Wittman (Colden/Springville Griffith Institute) have registered 522 and 367 assists, respectively.
USMMA earned an NCAA automatic berth after defeating Manhattanville in straight sets in the Skyline Conference championship match last Saturday. The Mariners are making their fifth NCAA tournament appearance overall and first since 2017.
