Potsdam, NY – Stepping up the defense to an incredible level, SUNY Cortland was able to hold off the Clarkson University Volleyball team’s offense enough to outlast the Golden Knights on numerous points and claim a three-set sweep, 25-20, 25-16, 25-22, in the NCAA New York Regional Semifinals Saturday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights finished off their season at 29-9 overall, tying their single-season mark for victories (2003). Cortland improved to 41-1 and advances to the NCAA New York Regional Finals tomorrow against Middlebury College.

In the opening set, Cortland and Clarkson traded points early on, but the Red Dragons moved out to a five-point advantage, pushing the Golden Knights to take an early timeout. Once Clarkson regained the serve, Adrienne Walker (Centennial, CO) delivered a pair of aces that tipped the tape and fell over harmlessly to tie the score at 12-12. Cortland, however, found another level of play at the conclusion of the set as the team’s middles were able to record kills at the center of the net, closing out 25-20.

The second set was all Cortland, as even the nine-point differential was not indicative of how dominant the Red Dragons were early on. The third set found Clarkson looking to make a comeback, and the Golden Knights had a three-point edge midway through the set, Cortland rallied to score six of the next seven points to claim a two-point edge. With Clarkson jumping back ahead after a kill from Megan Mahon (Irvine, CA), Cortland once again elevated its defensive play to deny Clarkson a fourth set.

“Good teams know how to find another gear when they are being pushed,” head coach Johan Dulfer said. “I thought we came out with great energy today and did some really good things and we forced Cortland to find that other level. I give them a lot of credit; that’s a very good team. Today, they knew how to turn the weaker areas of their game into strengths. I am incredibly proud that our young team was able to force Cortland to have to step up and that we played them so tight. As a program we are not far away from winning matches like this one. I thought our seniors did an outstanding job leading the way this weekend and I hope they are very proud of the environment that we played in tonight. Our fan support was outstanding. I’ve coached in a lot of gyms, but this was one of the best environments I’ve ever been in for a volleyball game.”

Cortland had 48 digs to Clarkson’s 34, and the Red Dragons minimized their hitting mistakes to just 14 in 99 swings, hitting .303 in the match. Sheena Asibey led the Cortland middles with 12 kills total, while Kaitlyn Cooper (9-2-17) and Aubrey Barrett (8-0-16) combined to hit .450 in the match. The Red Dragons’ outsides did comparatively little damage, but Katie Wick still struck for 10 kills and Ashley Coyle added five with no errors in 14 swings. Three players finished with double figures in digs, led by Jaclyn Lawrence, who had 14. Coyle and Wick added 11 and 10 digs, respectively.

For Clarkson, Sara Artus (St. Regis Falls, NY) was the top hitter in the match, striking for 13 kills overall. Freshman Becca Brabec (Lemont, IL) had a slow start, but picked up her game in the final two sets to finish with nine kills. Junior Bailey Walker (Centennial, CO) contributed five kills in just eight swings for Clarkson. Lani Durio (Austin, TX) ran the offense with 34 assists, and Adrienne Walker led the always formidable Clarkson serving game with four aces.