ONEONTA, N.Y. - After dropping the first set, 25-21, the Oneonta women's volleyball team won the next three sets to defeat Potsdam, 3-1, in the SUNYAC opener on Friday evening. The Red Dragons followed up with 25-17, 25-19, and 25-11 set wins to move to 5-10 overall and 1-0 in the SUNYAC. The Bears fall to 5-13 and 0-1 in the conference.
Sophomore Lily Pugliese (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay) led Oneonta with a season-high 15 kills and two service aces. Senior Emma Morretta (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) added nine kills and two blocks. Senior Keira Welsh (Patchogue, NY/Patchogue-Medford) recorded eight kills. Sophomore Layla Pertchik (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) dished out 40 assists, and senior Lillian Slattery (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) led the team with 18 digs. Junior Abigail Harper (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) had 17 digs.
Potsdam took the first point of the opening set before Oneonta rattled off a 6-0 run with kills from senior Abby Stevens (Otisville, NY/Minisink Valley), Pugliese, and Pertchik. The teams traded points until Welsh knocked in a kill to take a 9-4 lead. The Bears used a 3-0 run to cut the lead to two, but the Red Dragons added kills from sophomore Corynna Manjos (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) and Pugliese to push ahead 11-7. Oneonta built a 16-11 lead with two more Pugliese kills. With the score at 18-13, Potsdam went on an 8-0 run to take a 21-18 lead. Oneonta never retook the lead as Potsdam used kills from Ashlee Hagerman and Rachel Madore to go up 24-20. A final Oneonta attack error gave the Bears a 1-0 lead.
Potsdam led 7-5 in the second set before a Welsh kill and a bad set tied the score. Potsdam tied 11-11 following a kill from Noelle Redeye. A 7-0 Oneonta run, with three Pugliese kills and two from junior Shea Landversicht (Greenville, NY/Greenville), gave the Red Dragons an 18-11 lead. The Red Dragons pulled away with a 3-0 run and a bad set from the Bears, tying the sets 1-1.
The Bears took a 7-5 lead in the third, but Oneonta chipped away to tie 10-10 following a kill from Landversicht. Potsdam led 12-11, but a 5-0 Oneonta run, with a Pugliese ace and a kill by Welsh, made it 16-12. Kills from Welsh and Morretta made it 19-14. Potsdam pulled with four before Oneonta took the third set on a pair of Bears' errors.
After Potsdam took a 7-6 fourth-quarter lead, the Bears committed three straight errors, allowing Oneonta to go up by two. Freshman Carsen Rittberger (Huntington, NY/Harborfields) knocked in a kill to spark a 5-0 Oneonta run, making it 17-9. A 7-0 run extended the Oneonta lead to 24-10. Pugliese tallied the set-winning kill to complete the comeback victory.
Hagerman led Potsdam with nine kills, and Ella Murtage had six. Isabella Miller tacked on two aces and 13 assists. Madore recorded 23 digs.
Oneonta next faces Delhi on Wednesday, October 14, in SUNYAC play, starting at 6 p.m.
