CORTLAND, NY – The No. 5 seeded Buffalo State women's volleyball team was defeated, 3–0, by the No. 1 seeded Cortland Red Dragons in the SUNYAC Championship semifinals.

GAME BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Cortland - 3, Buffalo State - 0
SET SCORES: (16-25, 13-25, 24-26)
LOCATION: Whitney T. Corey Gymnasium – Cortland NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State: (15-16, 5-4 SUNYAC), Fredonia: (23-7, 9-0 SUNYAC)

INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE

• Nicole Delli Colli (Rye, NY/Rye) led the Bengals with seven kills, while Ella Wittman (Cheektowaga, NY/Springville Griffith) and Delia Lake (Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West) followed with five kills each.
• Karlie Shaffer (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown East) led the Bengals' offense with nine assists.
• Defensively, Hailey Kulniszewski (Elma, NY/Iroquois), Shaffer, and Wittman each tallied seven digs, while Delaney McCarthy (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West) anchored the front line with one block and two block assists.
• Rose Kory (Chappaqua, NY/Horace Greeley) was honored with the SUNYAC Elite 20 award, which recognizes the student-athlete competing at the conference championship level with the highest academic standing among their peers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After defeating their 'Battle by the Lake' rivals, the Fredonia Blue Devils, in the first round, the Bengals looked to continue their SUNYAC postseason run with an upset bid against the Cortland Red Dragons in the SUNYAC Championship semifinals.
• In the opening set, the Bengals found their rhythm early with a three-point rally, but the Red Dragons countered with a six-point run. In a back-and-forth frame, the Bengals attempted to regain control, but a late five-point surge from the Red Dragons secured the first set.
• In the second set, the Bengals fell behind early following a seven-point run by the Red Dragons. Despite battling to stay within reach, the early deficit proved too much to overcome, and the Bengals dropped the set, falling behind 2–0 in the match.
• In the third set, the Bengals came out fighting, using a four-point rally to grab an early lead. The Red Dragons, however, responded with three consecutive four-point runs to swing momentum back in their favor. The Bengals continued to battle, capitalizing on Red Dragon errors and using a late three-point rally to stay alive, but Red Dragons ultimately closed out the set, as the Bengals fell in straight sets, ending their 2025 campaign in the SUNYAC Championship semifinals.

FOR THE FOES

• Emalee Ballou and Kira Pirrera led the Red Dragons with 11 kills each, while Samantha Rodriguez and Melissa O'Connor directed the offense with 19 assists apiece.
• Defensively, Alyssa Rich recorded a team-high 15 digs, and Pirrera added one block and two block assists at the net.