SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- The Oneonta volleyball team fell to both Alfred State and Union in three sets, Saturday afternoon on the final day of the Russell Sage/Union Crosstown Challenge. Oneonta dropped their match to Alfred St. 25-20, 25-19, 25-19, and to Union, 25-20, 25-15, 25-12. After the weekend, the Red Dragons moved to 2-7 this season, while the Pioneers improved to 6-3 overall and the Garnet Chargers to 7-0.
Junior
Shea Landversicht (Greenville, NY/Greenville) finished the day with a combined total of 17 kills and four aces, and sophomore
Corynna Manjos (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) recorded 12 kills with an ace on the day. Senior
Keira Welsh (Patchogue, NY/Patchogue-Medford) ended the tri-match with nine kills, and freshman
Carsen Rittberger (Huntington, NY/Harborfields) had seven kills with 1.0 total block.
Oneonta 0, Alfred State 3Â
In the opening set against Alfred St., Rittberger spiked a couple of kills to give Oneonta a slight 4-3 edge. The Pioneers then went on a 10-3 rally to go up 14-7. Manjos and Landversicht each smacked in a kill, but Alfred St. continued to increase their lead to 20-11. The Red Dragons did not quit, and they ignited a 7-1 run with a pair of service aces and a kill from Landversicht and two blocking assists from senior
Emma Morretta (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac), cutting the deficit to 21-18. A Rittberger kill and an ace from sophomore
Cadence Meltz (Highland, NY/Highland) made it a 24-20 game before the Pioneers secured the set point.
Alfred State got out to a 9-4 lead to start the second set, before Oneonta capitalized on a few of their opponents' errors and turned it into a one-point game, 11-10. Manjos recorded a kill followed by an ace, but Alfred St. went on a 7-3 run to go up 18-13. The Red Dragons got back to within two, 20-18, with kills from Morretta and Welsh, however the Pioneers scored five of the next six points to take the second set.
The third set was tied early at five apiece, then Alfred State recorded an 11-2 rally for a 16-7 lead. Trailing 21-12, the Red Dragons sparked a 7-3 stretch to make it a five-point game with a pair of kills from Welsh, one from sophomore
Lily Pugliese (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay) and an ace from Meltz. Following Meltz's ace, Alfred State gained the match point.
Landversicht ended with eight kills in the match and two aces, while Rittberger had five kills. Both Welsh and Manjos totaled four kills.
Oneonta 0, Union 3Â
Union jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first set, before Landversicht and Manjos earned a kill. Manjos recorded another pair of kills with an ace, however the Garnet Chargers maintained their lead, 17-9. Later in the match, the Red Dragons had a 7-1 rally that included two aces from Landversicht and two kills from Manjos to bring them within three, 23-20. Union then closed out the set by recording the final two points.
The Garnet Chargers went up by four in the second set until Landversicht knocked in a couple kills while Manjos and Morretta each scored a kill to make it 7-5. Union scored three straight points, then the Red Dragons answered with an 8-2 run to take a 13-12 lead. Welsh had two kills during the run, while Manjos had an ace and Morretta and Rittberger each had a kill. Union put the set away with a 13-2 rally for a 25-15 final.
The home team got out to an 11-4 advantage in the third set. Morretta hit in a kill and totaled a block to get Oneonta back to within four, then Union scored four straight to take a 15-7 lead. Junior
Abigail Harper (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) delivered an ace for the Red Dragons to cut the deficit to six, but the Garnet Chargers capped off the set with a 10-3 run to take the match.
Landversicht finished with nine kills and two aces against Union. Manjos totaled eight kills, two aces, and a block assist. Welsh had five kills with a block assist, and Morretta recorded four kills and 1.5 total blocks. Sophomore
Layla Pertchik (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) led the team with 14 assists.
The Red Dragons are back on the court on Wednesday, September 16, when they travel to take on SUNY Poly at 6 pm.
