Cortland to Face Rowan in NCAA Volleyball First Round Thursday at Juniata
Cortland Sports Information Department
The Cortland women's volleyball team will be making its second straight NCAA Division III tournament appearance and 26th overall as part of an eight-team regional hosted by Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa. The fourth-seeded Red Dragons (21-5) will open against fifth-seeded Rowan University (24-6) in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 5:30 p.m.
The Cortland/Rowan winner will face either top-seeded Juniata (28-1) or eighth-seeded Keene State (13-14) in the second round on Friday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. Juniata and Keene State will play Thursday at 8 p.m. Thursday's other first-round matchups feature third-seeded Christopher Newport (21-13) versus sixth-seeded Morrisville (23-7) at 12:30 p.m. and second-seeded Ithaca (24-4) versus seventh-seeded Alfred State (21-6) at 3 p.m., with those two winners meeting Friday at 4:30 p.m.
The regional final is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 12 at 5 p.m., and the regional champion will advance to the "elite eight" in Pittsburgh, Pa., Wednesday through Saturday, Nov. 16-19. Cortland has advanced to the national quarterfinals nine times, most recently in 2011.
Under fourth-year head coach Erin Glickert, the Red Dragons won their 21st State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title this past weekend to earn an NCAA automatic bid. The top-seeded Red Dragons swept Geneseo in the semifinal round and beat Brockport in five sets in the finals to repeat as conference champions.
Graduate student Zoe Staats (Buchanan/Hendrick Hudson) leads Cortland this season with 286 kills (3.0 per set) and boasts a .333 attack percentage, while junior Allie Sturgess (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) has recorded 245 kills (2.6 per set). Freshman middle blocker Emma Reilly (Massapequa Park/Massapequa) averages just over one block per set (86 in 83 sets) and has a .333 attack percentage (107 kills, 34 errors in 219 attempts). Sophomore middle blocker Alexa Guedez (Rye/Rye Neck) averages 0.9 blocks per set. Senior setter Meadow Wittman (Colden/Springville Griffith Institute) averages 4.9 assists per set and sophomore libero Mikenzie Martens (Carthage) averages 4.2 digs per set.
Rowan earned an NCAA automatic berth after winning the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) tournament for the second straight year. The Profs and Cortland played on Oct. 28 at Rowan, with Cortland coming out on top, 25-21, 25-21, 25-23.
