SUNY Oneonta Athletics

UTICA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta volleyball team picked up the road win against SUNY Poly with a 3-1 victory Wednesday evening. Oneonta overpowered Poly in the first set, 25-10, before the home team won the second set, 25-20. The Red Dragons then won sets three and four, 25-12 and 25-21, respectively, to win the match and improve to 3-7 this season, while the Wildcats dropped to 0-8 overall.

Junior Shea Landversicht (Greenville, NY/Greenville) led Oneonta with 13.5 points, recording seven kills, two aces, and 4.5 total blocks. Senior Emma Morretta (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) totaled nine points off seven kills and 2.0 total blocks, while sophomores Corynna Manjos (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) and Lily Pugliese (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay) both finished with six kills and 1.0 total block for seven points. Senior Keira Welsh (Patchogue, NY/Patchogue-Medford) added six kills and a block assist for 6.5 points.

The Red Dragons served 16 aces in the match against the Wildcats, which is tied for the fifth most aces in a single match in team history. Senior Lillian Slattery (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) led the game and recorded a career-high six aces and 23 digs. Sophomore Cadence Meltz (Highland, NY/Highland) had four aces with seven digs, and junior Hailey Herrera (Brooklyn, NY/Park Slope Collegiate) totaled two aces along with 11 assists.

In the first set, Oneonta ignited an early 7-1 rally with two kills from Landversicht to take a 9-3 lead. The Red Dragons maintained their advantage with aces from Landversicht, sophomore Layla Pertchik (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs), and Meltz. SUNY Poly scored off an error to make their deficit 16-10, then Oneonta closed out the set with nine straight points, which included two aces from Slattery and a kill from Pugliese and Landversicht.

The Wildcats went ahead early in the second set, 12-6, then the Red Dragons clawed back to within two after a 5-1 stretch with a pair of kills from Pugliese and one from Morretta. A handful of Poly errors along with an ace and 1.5 total blocks from Landversicht kept Oneonta within two, 20-18. Welsh spiked in a kill before Pugliese and Morretta blocked a shot to make it a one-point game, but the Wildcats recorded the final four points to take set two.

Oneonta bounced back immediately in the third set by scoring the first seven points with four aces from Slattery and a kill from Manjos. A Red Dragon trio of Pugliese, Manjos and Welsh all smacked in a kill to extend the team's lead to 12-5, then following a couple of Wildcat errors, Manjos slammed in a pair of kills to make it 17-7. SUNY Poly totaled three straight points before Oneonta closed out the set with an 8-2 rally, where Herrera served an ace, both Pugliese and Manjos had a kill, and Landversicht and Welsh blocked the set-winning point.

Welsh connected on a couple of kills at the start of the fourth set, however Poly was able to gain a 10-6 lead. Two kills from Morretta and a pair of aces from Meltz allowed the Red Dragons to tie the set at 10, but the Wildcats slowly rebuilt a 17-14 edge. Morretta swatted in two more kills before Welsh tie the set with a kill, then Oneonta took a 19-18 lead off a couple of Poly errors. The Wildcats tied the set on the next point, then the Red Dragons ended the game with a 6-2 run to secure the match. Manjos started the rally off with a kill, then Herrera later recorded an ace while Landversicht totaled two kills, including one for the match point. 

SUNY Poly was led by Kassity Cruz with the game-high 16 kills. Grace Southwick finished the game with four kills, 27 assists and three aces, and Ella Eochorst had five kills with two aces. 

The Red Dragons are back on the court on Friday for the first day of the Stevens Quad in Hoboken, New Jersey. Oneonta will face the host-institution, Stevens, on Friday at 2 pm, then they compete against Springfield at 4:30 pm.   Read Full Article