ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta women's volleyball team fell to Skidmore, 3-0, in their season opener, Tuesday evening in Dewar Arena. The Red Dragons came up short in the sets, 25-17, 25-14 and 25-21, as they start the year 0-1 and the Thoroughbreds 1-0.Â
Senior
Emma Morretta (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) and junior
Shea Landversicht (Greenville, NY/Greenville) co-led Oneonta with seven kills, and sophomore
Corynna Manjos (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) finished with five kills. Morretta also totaled four blocks, while Landversicht recorded three digs and three blocks. Junior
Hailey Herrera (Brooklyn, NY/Park Slope Collegiate) and sophomore
Layla Pertchik (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) both finished with 10 assists, and sophomore
Cadence Meltz (Highland, NY/Highland) had the team-high seven digs.
Skidmore controlled the first set and took a 17-5 lead. Oneonta cut the deficit to nine with three straight points off a Landervsicht kill, an ace from freshman
Maddie Saladino (Melville, NY/St. Anthony's), and a block from Landversicht and senior
Keira Welsh (Patchogue, NY/Patchogue-Medford). Trailing 22-11, the Red Dragons rallied for the next five points with a kill from Welsh, a block by Morretta, and three Skidmore errors. Manjos made it 23-17 with a kill, however the Thoroughbreds scored the next two points for the set.
After Skidmore jumped ahead 5-1 in the second set, Manjos knocked in two kills and Oneonta scored four of the next five points to bring themselves within one, 6-5. The Thoroughbreds answered back with a 10-2 rally to go up 16-7. Sophomore
Lily Pugliese (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay) smacked a kill and sparked a 4-1 run for Oneonta to make it a six-point deficit, but Skidmore replied with three straight for a 20-11 lead. Landversicht tallied two more kills before the visitors pulled away for the second set, 25-14.
The Red Dragons gained an early 2-1 lead in the third set with a Manjos kill and a Thoroughbred error. Landversicht drilled two kills to tie the match, then Skidmore recorded three points to go ahead 7-4. Oneonta battled back and made it a one-point set with kills from Welsh, freshman
Carsen Rittberger (Huntington, NY/Harborfields), Morretta, and an ace from Pertchik. The Thoroughbreds slowly began to pull away as an ace from Chole Heitman put them ahead 19-12. The Red Dragons capitalized on a few errors and began to claw their way back. Trailing 22-16, Landversicht and Rittberger blocked Heitman's attack, then Herrera served an ace to get the team to within three. Landversicht recorded a kill before she and Rittberger blocked another attack to cut the lead to two, however Skidmore stopped the momentum and tallied the final two points for the 25-21 final.
Skidmore's Catriona Hoelperl had nine aces, 16 assists, and five digs. Natalie Pederson ended with the game-high eight kills, while Cece Kilroy had six kills for the Thoroughbreds.
Oneonta is back in action on Friday, September 4, to host the Red Dragon Invitational, a two-day tournament in Dewar Arena. The Red Dragons start off with Utica on Friday at 3 pm, then they will compete against Wheaton at 5 pm.
