ALBANY, N.Y. - The Oneonta women's volleyball team won two straight matches on Saturday afternoon's final day of the Union/Sage Crosstown Challenge. The Red Dragons (2-8) swept Castleton 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, and 25-19), then defeated Sage 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-23, and 25-17). Senior Ashanti Davis (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Hendrick Hudson) was named to the all-tournament team for her performance and totaled 25 kills and eight blocks in the two matches.

Oneonta took an 8-3 lead following two straight kills from Sabrina Squicciarini (Manorville, NY/St. Anthony's). The Spartans answered with a 7-0 run to go ahead 10-8, but kills from Katie Spano (Dryden, NY/Dryden) and Layla Alt (Shullsburg, WI/Shullsburg) tied at 10-10. After Castleton went up by two, Oneonta responded with six unanswered points with two Davis blocks and a kill. Another Red Dragons' run with three Davis kills pushed the lead to 21-14, and Oneonta took four of the final five points to win the opening set. 

The Red Dragons jumped out to a 7-2 advantage in the second set, and freshman Keira Welsh (Patchogue, NY/Patchogue-Medford High School) added a kill and an ace. Spano sent a kill to begin a 7-0 Oneonta run consisting of two Anna Moller (Long Beach, NY/Long Beach Senior High School) aces and four Spano kills. Davis blocked an attack to make it 20-7, and the Spartans could not pull within single digits as a final kill from Welsh put Oneonta up 2-0.

Oneonta never gave up the lead in the third set, and kills from Davis and Welsh pushed the Red Dragons up 17-11. The team continued to roll, and Davis again sent in the set-winning kill. 

Davis totaled 15 kills and three blocks, while Spano added ten kills. Welsh finished with seven. Moller and Welsh added two aces each, while Sophia Gerace (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River) had 18 assists and Alt recorded 17. Annalisa Alicea (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) grabbed 12 digs, and Moller recorded 11. 

Oneonta took the first set against Sage in a back-and-forth contest with the Gators. After Sage went up 21-19, Oneonta used a 3-0 run with a Colleen McCabe (Rockville Centre, NY/Oceanside) ace to tie. The Gators tied 23-23, but a Spano kill and a Sage bad set put Oneonta up 1-0. Sage took the second set after going on a 6-1 run to close out when up 19-17. 

It was another close third set, with Sage going ahead 20-18. Kills by Spano and Gianna May (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville) tied 20-20 before the Gators took a one-point lead. The Red Dragons then used a 4-0 run with kills from Mikayla Kendrick (Nassau, NY/Columbia High School/East Greenbush) and Davis to go up 2-1 in the match. 

Oneonta came out 14-3 in the fourth set, and Alicea and Alt knocked in aces. The Red Dragons continued to pull away and went ahead 19-4. Squicciarini grabbed a pair of kills to make it 21-9, and Davis put Oneonta up 24-12. Sage made a 5-0 to follow, but Spano gave the match win with a kill.

Davis and Spano each grabbed ten kills, while Alicea had two aces. Davis also had five blocks, while Gerace made 21 assists. Alicea finished with 23 digs. 

Oneonta next travels to face Morrisville on Wed. Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.