SCRANTON, Pa. – The University of Scranton volleyball team (2-5) dropped a five-set heartbreaker to the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons (6-2) on Friday night at the John Long Center in Scranton.

SUNY Cortland 3, Scranton 2 (25-15, 27-25, 22-25, 14-25, 15-17)

Scranton grabbed an early 6-1 lead in the first set and then Cortland rallied to cut the lead to 8-6 before things became deadlocked at 10 apiece. Senior Stephanie Margolies (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) delivered three consecutive kills as part of 11 straight points for the Royals that resulted in a 21-10 lead late in the set and Cortland was unable to get any closer than eight when junior Ashley Bolan (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) closed out the 25-15 victory with a service ace.

The two teams traded points for a majority of the second set and Scranton used consecutive points to even things at 20 apiece before taking four of the final five points featuring kills by Margolies and sophomore Deanna Whelpley (Congers, N.Y./Immaculate Heart Academy) to take a two-set lead with the 27-25 victory.

Cortland led 13-7 in the third set, but the Royals would not go quietly and battled back to take a 16-14 lead as Bolan led four straight points with two service aces. The Red Dragons responded with five straight points and things were once again even at 20 apiece before the visitors took five of the final six points and notched a 25-22 win.

In the fourth set, Cortland raced out to an early 11-2 lead and the Royals were unable to get any closer through the remainder of the set and the visitors forced a fifth set with a 25-14 victory.

As was the case for much of the match, the fifth set proved to be even throughout and Margolies came through with a kill to create a 7-all deadlock. The Red Dragons held a 12-11 edge before three straight Scranton points including another Margolies kill that gave the host a 14-12 lead for the time being. However, Cortland was able to rally and tallied five of the final six points in the 17-15 win.

Whelpley led three Royals in double figures with 16 kills, while senior Erin Keaveney (Collegeville, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) added 15 and Margolies had 13. Freshman Cammi Quirk (Oakland, N.J./Ridgewood) registered a season-high 47 assists on the night and sophomore Maddie Forry (Reading, Pa./Exeter Township) led the way defensively with 33 digs.

Allie Sturgess paced Cortland with 14 kills.

The Royals are set to battle Haverford on Saturday afternoon at the John Long Center with first serve slated for 2:30 p.m.

--ROYALS--