As the SUNY Oneonta women's volleyball team prepares for its SUNYAC tournament semifinal match tomorrow at Brockport, the Red Dragons have one thing on their mind, winning a conference title!
 
Oneonta (16-15) is making its 13^th appearance all-time in the conference tournament and is seeking its second SUNYAC title overall.  The Red Dragons captured its first conference crown in 2002 and have been twice a runner-up.
 
Oneonta earned the No. 2 seed for this year's tournament by virtue of its 7-2 record and second place finish in the conference this fall.  It was its best finish since the East-West merger in 2014.  Their opponent tomorrow at 4pm is New Paltz, whom they have never faced in their previous 12 appearances in the SUNYAC tournament.  The winner will face either top-seeded Brockport or fifth seeded SUNY Geneseo who play at 7pm in the other semifinal on Saturday at 4pm.  The conference champion receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III tournament, which begins next weekend.
 
"Going into the last weekend of pool play, our sole focus was on securing the second seed," stated Head Coach Colleen Cashman.  "Knowing that we would have a first-round bye as well as accomplishing something our program hasn't done in quite a while was very motivating."
 
The Red Dragons enter this weekend riding a seven-match win streak that includes back-to-back weekend sweeps one of which was the final SUNYAC pool play, which solidified them into the No. 2 seed.  Oneonta will rely on the experience of its five seniors and the depth that is provided from its younger players.
 
"We are definitely playing well at the right time," continued Cashman.  "What has been especially satisfying about our team is that everyone – from our bench to our starters – are contributing.  It is a total team effort.  We don't skip a beat."
 
Senior Paige Carpluk (Yaphank/Bellport) is the attack leader with 332 kills.  Classmates Erika Corbin (Kirkwood/Windsor) and Kassidy Kievit (Cincinnatus/Cincinnatus Central) are next with 209 and 177 kills respectively.  Kievit leads the squad with 97 blocks while Corbin and Carpluk have contributed 81 blocks and 58 blocks respectively.
 
Juniors Sara Feldman (Smithtown/Smithtown East) and Melissa Voyer (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) have also been solid contributors for Oneonta this fall both offensively and defensively.  Voyer has recorded 161 kills and is second to Kievit with 93 blocks.  Feldman has registered 159 kills while being third on the squad with 247 digs.
 
Fueling the attack for the Red Dragons is senior Jessica Pelaccio (Verplanck/Hendrick Hudson) with her 711 assists.  She also leads the team with 29 service aces and has collected 232 digs.
 
Pelaccio's younger sister, Lindsay, is the defensive leader in her first season with Oneonta with her team best 386 digs.
 
Cashman concluded, "We are feeling very confident going into this weekend and we want to accomplish what hasn't been done since 2002 and that's to bring home a SUNYAC Championship!"
 
You can follow this weekend's action live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/brockport/