NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The Oneonta women's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 loss to New Paltz in the SUNYAC opener on Wednesday evening. With the loss, the Red Dragons fall to 3-4 overall and 0-1 in the conference. The Hawks remain undefeated at 7-0 and 1-0 in the SUNYAC.
After junior Caitlin Christie (Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore) gave Oneonta the opening kill in the first set, New Paltz went on a 6-1 run. The Red Dragons broke the streak on a Hawks' service error before the teams traded points. The Red Dragons used a 3-0 span capped off by a kill by senior Clara Culeton (Oswego, NY/Oswego) to cut the lead to 8-7. Kills from Christie and senior Casey Biggers (Holtsville, NY/Sachem East) and a Kayla Rende (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) ace gave Oneonta its first lead at 10-9.
Another Culeton kill and an Annalisa Alicea (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) ace put Oneonta ahead 12-10 as the Red Dragons continued to hold a narrow lead. After Katie Steele sent in a kill, the Hawks retook the lead and continued to hold the advantage for the remainder of the set. New Paltz used three unanswered kills to go up 23-18 and then won the set following an Oneonta attack error to win 25-19.
The Red Dragons went ahead 7-4 in the second set following a block by junior Ashanti Davis (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Hendrick Hudson). New Paltz chipped its way back in to tie 9-9 and then went up by one when Cate DiGiacomo sent in a kill. Christie followed up with a kill, and a Hawks' error gave the Red Dragons an 11-10 lead. Three more ties followed before two consecutive New Paltz points put the hosts ahead for the rest of the set. A Hawks' error cut the set to 23-18, but New Paltz scored the following two points.
New Paltz took the final set 25-17 after taking six of the last seven points. Junior Isabella Fabrizio (Highland Mills, NY/Cornwall) tallied an ace to make it 18-15, and Oneonta kept in the fight after a few Hawks' errors. Three straight kills by New Paltz's Victoria Konicki and Mackenzie Williams sealed the victory.
Christie led Oneonta with 11 kills, while Biggers added seven. Culeton tacked on six kills, an ace, and one block. Rende dished out 21 assists, while Carsyn Rachuta (Holbrook, NY/Sachem North) grabbed six digs.
Williams topped New Paltz with 14 kills and two aces. Konicki recorded eight kills, and Cate DiGiacomo had a match-high 30 assists.
Oneonta returns to action on Fri. Sept. 16 for the Union Interleague Challenge and face off against Union at 4 p.m.
