The SUNY Oneonta women's volleyball team went 2-1 this weekend in the final SUNYAC pool play at New Paltz to lay claim to a playoff berth. The Red Dragons are qualifying for the SUNYAC tournament for the first time since 2011 when the conference was still split into East and West Divisions.

Senior Jill Darpino (Endicott/Union Endicott) had 28 kills for the weekend while junior Erika Corbin (Kirkwood/Windsor) added 18 kills. Senior Karly Greco (East Patchogue/Bellport) registered 47 assists and classmate Allyson Coniglione (Glenville/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) had 47 digs on the weekend.

Plattsburgh
The Red Dragons swept Plattsburgh on Friday night to open the weekend.
 
Plattsburgh State led for much of the first set until Oneonta rallied to score eight straight points turning a 13-10 deficit into an 18-13 lead. The Red Dragons would continue roll on to take the first set.
 
In the second set, Oneonta jumped out to an early lead, earning consecutive point streaks of six and three to take a 12-6 advantage. The Cardinals would capitalize on two Red Dragon errors, and even the set at 13-13. Oneonta would then strike for four points in a row, grabbing a 19-15 advantage, eventually claiming the second set by the same score as the first, 25-20.

With the third set tied at 5-5 the Red Dragons logged an offensive charge of a 12-0 run, to set the score at 17-5. The Cardinals would answer back with a 6-0 run to bring the score 18-12. But the Red Dragons lead was too much for the Cardinals to overcome, as the Red Dragons closed out the set, 25-16, and the match.

Darpino had 10 kills on 24 attempts, for a .375 shooting percentage. Coniglione collected eight digs, and Erin Avery (Harpursville/Harpursville) helped with 19 assists.

New Paltz
The Red Dragons would fall to New Paltz in its opening match on Saturday morning 3-0. The Red Dragons played back and forth during first set but couldn't separate themselves from the Hawks. The Hawks would make a push and take the first set 25-17.  New Paltz would take the next two sets, 25-12 and 25-16, to complete the sweep.

The Red Dragons lead hitter would be Darpino who had seven kills. Coniglione had 14 digs and Greco had nine assists.

Buffalo State
The Red Dragons bounced back from their loss to New Paltz in the morning to take Buffalo State down in four sets. Seniors Kristen Polan (Westhampton/Westhampton Beach) (6) and Hannah O'Neil (Brookhaven/Bellport) (5) combined for 11 blocks. Coniglione had a game high of 25 digs and Justine Abbate (Massapequa/Massapequa) had 10 digs.

The Red Dragons would play the Bengals close until the end of the first set. With the score 21-23, in Buffalo's favor, Oneonta turned the tables by taking four straight points, to clinch first set. The Red Dragons would drop the second set 25-19, but they would dig down and secure the next two sets 25-20 and 25-21.

In the third set, Oneonta found themselves behind, 8-3 and 12-7, before mounting a comeback to tie the set at 13-13.  Three quick points by the Bengals put them back in front, but six straight points by Oneonta put them ahead to stay.

Oneonta jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fourth set and never looked back, as they closed out the match.  Darpino collected 11 kills in the match and Corbin added nine kills.  Greco registered 26 assists while Coniglione had 25 digs.

The Red Dragons are back in action Tuesday October 27^th against Sage College at 6:00pm in Troy, NY.