Potsdam, NY - Sophomore Hannah Jones (Lake Arrowhead, CA) sparked a late run in the third set with four aces in a stretch of five points to help give the Clarkson University Volleyball team a three-set sweep of Cortland State (25-12, 25-21, 25-16) Wedneday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights, ranked 12th in the country in the latest AVCA poll, ran their winning streak to 12 straight with the victory, improving to 16-2 overall, while the Red Dragons fell to 8-13 on the season. Clarkson will play four key Liberty League games this weekend that could help decide the pecking order of the conference for early November.

Clarkson had a modest lead through the opening points, but took off in the first set to double up the Red Dragons 25-12. In the second set, the Knights gained an early lead, but Cortland was able to rally midway through the set to cut the deficit to just a single point on two occasions. A good run of serving from Lauren Hutchinson (Spring, TX) made a three-point lead into a seven-point advantage late, but Clarkson started to struggle on the serve receive and passing as Cortland tried to climb back into the game. The Knights held off the charge of the Red Dragons for a four-point win, but the Clarkson miscues would continue in the third set. The Red Dragons jumped out to an early lead, and though Clarkson came back to tie the score on three occasions, it wasn't until midway through the final set that the Knights took control. Trailing by one point (14-13), the Knights scored nine straight, keyed by Jones' aces. Her first was pure luck as it nipped the net and fell over, but she then rifled three more over the top that were mishandled by the Cortland back row and the Knights pushed the advantage to 22-14. From that point it was just a matter of time, and the Knights earned a 25-16 victory in the third set.

"I was really happy with our start to the match," head coach Johan Dulfer said. "Any time Cortland comes into our gym we consider that a big match, no matter what our team records are coming in. We have a lot of respect for them, but it was nice to see that we're no longer afraid of teams with big names. Our focus diminished a little bit over the course of the three sets, but I was pleased with little improvements in our game that we've been working on and glimpses of potential for the rest of the season."

Clarkson produced 10 aces overall, with Jones scoring four and Hutchinson gaining three. Aishvina Arasu (Brea, CA) crawled to within three kills of the 1,000-mark with a match-high 11, swinging at a .333 clip. Victoria Kirkemo (Englewood, CO) chipped in 10 kills and six digs while Hutchinson and Rachael Aird (East Syracuse, NY) recorded six apiece. Setter Kirstie Shurie (LaCanada, CA) had 30 assists while Sierra Rhoades (Poway, CA) led the team with 10 digs.

For Cortland, Janine Patora scored seven kills and Mary Kelly added in six kills as Liz Roberts produced 14 assists. Melanie McGuirk compiled 10 digs and Jessie Allen recorded three aces.