ALBANY, N.Y. - The Oneonta women's volleyball team split on the first day of the Union/Russell Sage Crosstown Challenge on Friday evening. The Red Dragons opened with a 3-1 win over Sage before falling in a five-set thriller to Hartwick.

After dropping the first set 25-22 to Sage, Oneonta bounced back by winning the following three sets 25-20, 25-23, and 25-19.

The Red Dragons fell behind 9-7 in the second before using a 5-1 span with a kill from sophomore Shea Landversicht (Greenville, NY/Greenville) and a Cadence Meltz (Highland, NY/Highland) ace. The Gators went up by four after kills from Mia Merino, Ashleigh Gerkman, and Julia Morales. Senior Mikayla Kendrick (Nassau, NY/Columbia) spurred a 6-0 Oneonta run to take a 20-18 lead. A kill from junior Keira Welsh (Patchogue, NY/Patchogue-Medford) and an ace by senior Anna Moller (Long Beach, NY/Long Beach Senior) pushed the lead to 23-19. Back-to-back kills by Welsh sealed the set win.

Senior Colleen McCabe (Rockville Centre, NY/Oceanside) knocked in an ace to give Oneonta a 9-5 lead in the third set. Sage rattled off four straight points before kills from junior Emma Morretta (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) and Welsh made it 12-10. A 4-0 run with kills by McCabe, Kendrick, and Landversicht pushed the Red Dragons ahead 18-12. The Gators pulled within two following two consecutive Paige Kemmer kills and tied 22-22 following a block from Cassidy Weiher and Kendall Perkins. Sage forced one more tie before Oneonta took the final two points.

Oneonta jumped ahead 11-3 in the fourth. The Gators went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 13-11. Morretta knocked in a kill, and two Moller aces made it 16-11. The Red Dragons used a 4-0 run with kills by Welsh and Landversicht to go up 21-14. Sage cut the lead to 23-19, but final kills from McCabe and freshman Layla Pertchik (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) gave Oneonta the match victory.

McCabe and Welsh finished with ten kills each, while Lendrick had eight. Moller sent in three aces, and Landversicht recorded four blocks. Pertchik dished out 40 assists, and Moller had 22 digs.

Kelley led Sage with 13 kills, and Gerkman had 11. Mia Wood made 21 assists, and Emma Curry tallied 23 digs.