ONEONTA, N.Y. - The Oneonta women's volleyball team split on Saturday afternoon's final day of the Red Dragon Invitational. Oneonta defeated Utica 3-2 in a five-set thriller before falling 3-1 against Western New England. The Red Dragons finish the weekend at 2-1 overall.
Oneonta and Utica traded sets to force a fifth in the morning match. The Red Dragons won 25-18 in the first. After a 5-0 run, Oneonta led 9-2 before Utica got a point. Another 5-0 span with two kills from sophomore Emma Morretta (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) pushed the advantage to 14-3. The Pioneers cut the lead to five before a pair of Utica errors put Oneonta ahead 22-15. Freshman McKenna Law (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills Ballston Lake) sent in a kill to make it 24-16, and a final kill from junior Katie Spano (Dryden, NY/Dryden) put Oneonta up 1-0.
Utica responded in the second with a closely matched set and took a 9-7 lead following a kill from Jada Anthony. Oneontap pulled within one after a double block by Morretta and freshman Shea Landversicht (/) and a kill from junior Sabrina Squicciarini (Manorville, NY/St. Anthony's). Utica used a 5-1 span to increase their lead to 19-14. Oneonta fought back with a 3-0 run that included kills from Morretta, Law, and Landversicht to cut the lead to three points. The Pioneers answered with a 4-0 run to tie sets 1-1.
Oneonta looked strong with a 25-16 win in the third set. Kills from Squicciarini and sophomore Keira Welsh (Patchogue, NY/Patchogue-Medford High School) pushed Oneonta up 21-12. Welsh knocked in two more kills and capped off the set win with an ace.
Utica bounced back with a 25-22 fourth-set victory. The Pioneers sealed the win on a 5-1 run to force a fifth set.
The Pioneers went up 6-4 in the fifth before Oneonta tied with kills from Landversicht and Law. Utica went back up by two, but Oneonta responded with a 5-0 run to go ahead 12-9. Oneonta went on to win on a Utica error.
Squicciarini and Law led the team with a career-high 15 kills each, while Welsh added a career-best 13 kills. Landversicht knocked in nine kills, and Moretta had eight. Junior Anna Moller (Long Beach, NY/Long Beach Senior High School) grabbed 42 digs, and freshman Hailey Herrera (Brooklyn, NY/) made 53 assists.
Oneonta dropped its second match 3-1. The Red Dragons fell 25-23 in the first and then won the second 25-21. The Golden Bears won the next two, 25-19 and 25-19.
Law sent in two kills to take a 12-9 lead in a close first set. Oneonta used a 4-1 span with aces from Moller and freshman Abigail Harper (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) to take a 16-11 lead. Western New England chipped back in to tie 19-19 following a 3-0 span. Oneonta was able to lead 23-22, but the Golden Bears rallied with three straight points to lead 1-0.
Western New England went ahead 10-8 in the second, but Oneonta answered with a 7-0 run comprised of four kills from Landversicht. The Golden Bears cut the advantage to one following a Oneonta service error. The Red Dragons closed out the set with three consecutive points to tie sets.
Oneonta took a 14-9 lead in the third and held back a Western New England run until the score stood at 19-17. The Golden Bears closed out on an 8-0 run to go ahead 2-1.
The fourth was close until another strong Western New England run closed the match victory.
Landversicht finished with a team-high 12 kills, while Spano and Law added nine each. Moller grabbed 21 digs, and Herrera made 38 assists.
Oneonta next plays at Delhi on Wed. Sept. 4 at 6 p.m.
