Sept. 6, 2014
 
Ithaca, NY – The SUNY Oneonta volleyball team returned to action in the second day of the Bomber Invitational at Ithaca College Saturday afternoon. The Red Dragons played both Cazenovia and Ithaca.
 
The Dragons cruised to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-9, 25-19) win over Cazenovia to open the day. The Red and White trailed early, but by no more than three before putting together five point spurt capped off by a pair of Karly Greco service aces to give them their first of the game at 11-9, and one they would not give up. From there the teams traded short runs before a kill by Paige Carpluk sealed the victory.
 
In the second set, Oneonta got out to a quick start, riding the momentum to a set win. They would not look back after taking a 5-4 lead in the midst of a five point run led by the service of Erin Avery. Hannah O'Neil recorded a kill to put Oneonta up a 17-9 margin, before Whitney Blair's service carried the Dragons to a 2-0 match lead.
 
The Red and White never trailed in the third set after recorded the first three points of the set. Oneonta led by as many as 6 proving to be too much for Cazenovia to handle. Jill Darpino killed a set from Jessica Pelaccio to give Oneonta its sixth win of the year.
 
Juniors Kristen Polan and Hannah O'Neil led the Dragons offense with 11 total attempts. Polan registered seven kills with O'Neil adding a trio for herself. Greco scored on four services aces to lead all Red Dragons.
 
The nightcap against host Ithaca proved to be a memorable one. Down early in the first set, by as many as 12, the Red and White fought back to pull with in three at 24-21 before dropping the set 25-21.
 
The second set would go a lot differently for Oneonta. Led by the serving of Avery, the Red Dragons built an early 8-0 lead. The Bombers would pull to within two at 21-19 forcing Head Coach Colleen Cashamn to call her second timeout to regroup her squad to its final four-point spurt to tie the match at one game apiece.
 
Trailing 3-0 at the start of the third set, Carpluk stepped to the service line polishing off a five point run with a pair of service aces. From there, fans were treated to a back-and-forth affair with the Dragon defense holding off the Bomber attack and the offense keeping steady putting together short runs to pace the 25-17 set win.
 
With the match on the line, the Red and White struck first in the fourth set on a kill by Carpluk before surrendering the next three points to Ithaca. A five point run in the middle of the set pushed the Dragons to a 12-10 lead forcing an Ithaca timeout that proved to be a turning point in the match. Out of the timeout, the Bombers put together a 10-6 span to give them a lead they would not relinquish.
 
In the winner-take-all fifth set, a composed Oneonta squad set their sights on victory. While the offense was scoring in two and three point spurts, the defense held strong not allowing Ithaca to score more than twice in an given sequence. Finishing the weekend the way she started, Polan killed a feed from Erika Corbin to seal the triumph with a 15-9 deciding set.

The Red and White take their third straight win over the Bombers, its first three since 1999.
 
The Red Dragons return to Dewar Arena on Tuesday when the entertain in-town rival Hartwick in a 7 pm match.