FREDONIA, N.Y. – The Fredonia State Women's Volleyball Team (12-13, 6-3 SUNYAC) battled for three tough sets on Tuesday night in front of a packed home crowd. The Blue Devils came up short in the SUNYAC Tournament First Round game.
New Paltz (14-13, 6-3 SUNYAC) upended the Devils by way of 25-22, 25-17, and 25-20 set scores.
Fredonia State found itself down quickly in the first set. Down 10-3, the home team started to chip away at the visitors' lead. The Blue Devils outscored the Hawks 5-4 over the next nine points, but still trailed 14-8.
From there they scored eight unanswered points to take a 16-14 lead. Three of those points came on blocks from
Selena Brown (Queens, N.Y.) and two were kills from
Emily Jones (Plainfield, Ill.).
The two teams proceeded to tie the set at 17s, 18s, and 19s, at which point the visitors went on a four-point run to take the lead for good at 22-19.
The second set started much closer than the first with both teams staying within two points of each other until New Paltz took a 12-9 lead. The Blue Devils battled back with a 5-1 run to take the 14-13 lead.
Taylor Beck (Olean, N.Y.) contributed to the run with one of the best serves of the game. The freshman sent a rocket over the net to earn an ace.
The two teams exchanged points until New Paltz held the 18-17 advantage. The visitors then scored seven unanswered points to close out the set.
Fredonia State started the third set with momentum. The home team held the advantage until the 15-14 mark.
During that span,
Brinn Shaughnessy (Apalachin, N.Y.) was responsible for two blocks and three kills.
With Fredonia leading 15-11, the Hawks went on a 12-2 run to take control back. Trailing 23-17, the Blue Devils scored three-straight but it wasn't enough to hold of New Paltz.
Brown led the offense with a .400 hitting percentage on six kills. Shaughnessy had a team-high nine kills and a .214 hitting percentage.
Kourtney Krchniak (Lockport, N.Y.) led the team with 24 assists and
Olivia Emley (Olean, N.Y.) contributed a team-leading 14 digs.
