HOBOKEN, NJ. -- The Oneonta volleyball team was tripped up by William Paterson in four sets, Saturday morning on the final day of the Stevens Quad. Oneonta won the first set 25-20, before William Paterson took the next three sets, 25-16, 25-10 and 25-19. The result moved the Red Dragons to 3-10 this season and the Pioneers to 5-5 overall.
Junior
Shea Landversicht (Greenville, NY/Greenville) led Oneonta with 11.5 points in the match, totaling six kills, two aces, and 3.5 total blocks. Freshman
Carsen Rittberger (Huntington, NY/Harborfields) finished with five kills and three block assists for 6.5 points, and senior
Keira Welsh (Patchogue, NY/Patchogue-Medford) recorded six kills. Junior
Hailey Herrera (Brooklyn, NY/Park Slope Collegiate) and sophomore
Layla Pertchik (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) each served two aces. Pertchik also tallied nine assists, while Herrera had eight.
Oneonta was down 6-5 in the first set until Welsh spiked in a pair of kills and Pertchik served two aces to help the Red Dragons score seven straight points to go up 12-6. The Pioneers made it a three-point game, then senior
Emma Morretta (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) and sophomore
Lily Pugliese (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay) each smashed a kill and sophomore
Cadence Meltz (Highland, NY/Highland) recorded an ace to put the team back up six. Oneonta later scored five straight points with a couple of blocks and a pair of aces from Herrera to go up 21-13. The Pioneers answered with five straight points themselves, but the Red Dragons capitalized on a few errors and recorded four of the next six points to win the first set.
Landversicht totaled 2.0 blocks to start the second set while Welsh slammed a kill to put Oneonta up 5-3. William Paterson then went on a 7-1 run to take a 10-6 lead. After Welsh recorded a kill, Meltz served back-to-back aces to bring the team within one, 10-9. The Pioneers responded and recorded 11 of the next 15 points to take a 21-13 advantage. Oneonta earned a few more points before William Paterson put the set away with a couple of kills.
The Pioneers got out to a 10-4 lead in the third set. Oneonta pulled within four with a Landversicht ace before William Paterson scored five of the next six to go ahead 15-7. After a couple of errors, the Pioneers recorded seven straight points for a 22-9 margin. Following a kill from Morretta, William Paterson totaled the final three points for the set.
A pair of kills from Landversicht and two aces from junior
Abigail Harper (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) gave Oneonta a slight 7-6 edge in the fourth set. Morretta hammered in two kills to maintain the team's lead until the Pioneers scored four of the next five points to go up 14-12. The set became tied at 14, then William Paterson had a 6-1 stretch for a 20-15 score. The Red Dragons cut the deficit to three with a kill from Landversicht, and again off an attacking error, but the Pioneers earned the last three points to win the match.
William Paterson was led by Cecilia Miller, Emeli Giesler and Riley Elliott, as all three totaled 13 kills. Abby Houpt finished with five aces and 19 assists.
The Red Dragons return to the court on Friday, September 25, for the Battle of the Hills at Hartwick at 7 pm.
