CORTLAND, N.Y. - SUNY Geneseo sophomore outside hitter Tricia Baxley logged a career-high 20 kills while first-year libero Kathleen Irwin totaled a collegiate-best 20 digs to lead the Knights to a 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 19-25, 27-25, 16-14) come-from-behind victory over host Cortland in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) women's volleyball pool play, Friday night.

"This match solidified who we have worked to become," said head coach Jen Salmon. "Commitment, sacrifice and persistence has brought us to where we are today. Although we wavered at times tonight, we kept fighting and never gave up. It was a huge win for the program as well as a young team with a lot to prove."

Falling behind, 2-1, heading into the third set, Geneseo (16-3, 3-1 SUNYAC) pulled out a 27-25 win in the fourth to force a decisive fifth set. After jumping out to a quick 4-0 lead, the Red Dragons (8-15, 2-2- SUNYAC) looked to be in control after building a 13-9 edge.

Trailing, 14-11, the Knights fought off three consecutive match points during a 5-0 run to clinch the victory.

Geneseo hit a solid .329 as a team for the match, led by a 14 kills and a .423 attack percentage by sophomore middle blocker Courtney Cleary and 12 kills by junior right side hitter Paige Pendleton, who finished the night attacking at a .476 clip.

Junior setter Bethany VanDerMeid totaled a career-best 43 assists, while junior defensive specialist Jia Sha and sophomore defensive specialist Dani Sayler each picked up 11 digs. 

The Knights return to action with two more SUNYAC Pool Play matched on Saturday, facing Oneonta at 10:00 a.m. and Potsdam at 12:30 p.m.