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The Oswego State volleyball team split a pair of five-set matches on Saturday afternoon to close out its 2017 tournament. Oswego opened with a back-and-forth 3-2 victory over Utica College (25-15, 17-25, 25-11, 18-25, 15-10) before losing a heartbreaking 3-2 (25-27, 25-22, 26-28, 25-18, 15-13) tilt with Elmira College. Oswego moves to 5-7 on the year with the split.
In the victory over the Pioneers in the morning, Oswego was led by a combined 28 kills from Alison Sullivan and Shauna O'Flaherty. Sullivan led all hitters with 15 kills in the match while O'Flaherty paced the way with efficiency, hitting a match-best .367 (min. 15 att.). In all, the Lakers tallied 53 kills to just 29 from Utica. Julia Flohr had a prominent role in the Laker attack game, dishing out a career-high 34 assists to help lift Oswego to victory.
Four Lakers were intergral in the passing game, as Rina Qelaj (18), Flohr (13), Sarah Braddon (11) and O'Flaherty (10) each finished with double-figure digs. On defense, Lauren Fie had two blocks with a solo and an assist while Flohr, O'Flaherty and Sullivan had a block assist apiece.
Against Elmira, Oswego looked poised to pull off a comeback win after trailing 1-0 and 2-1 in sets. In the deciding fifth-set, the Lakers held a 13-10 advantage and were on serve. The Soaring Eagles put a stop to Oswego's hope of staying perfect in its tournament with five-straight points to claim the fifth set 15-13.
O'Flaherty and Sullivan split 24 kills evenly while Braddon also had double figures just one behind her teammates. After setting her career-high for assists in the morning, Flohr rewrote her record book again with a new career-best of 39 assists.
Fie continued her solid defensive effort on Saturday with six blocks split evenly between solos and assists. Melissa Lussier had four blocks on a solo and three assists while Sullivan rounded out those with multiple blocks with three (one solo, two assists).
Qelaj dug 21 balls for a team-high while O'Flaherty (17), Flohr (14) and Lussier (12) were close behind.
Following the matches on Saturday, Sullivan and Flohr were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Oswego will return to action at Fredonia, starting on Friday, as the Blue Devils host a SUNYAC Pool Play weekend. The Lakers will open with Brockport at 7 p.m. on Friday.
