After an impressive 9-3 start to the season, the Golden Eagles were set to host their first conference opponents. The Green and Gold outpaced New Paltz in a classic five-set match, where they trailed for most of the game. The Golden Eagles swiftly defeated Oneonta Saturday afternoon in a three-set sweep, where SUNY Brockport had a team hitting percentage of .337.
The first set against New Paltz was tightly contested until the Hawks pulled away to take a commanding 24-20 lead. Brockport almost completed the comeback, making the score 23-24 before New Paltz would score the final point, giving them a 1-0 set lead.
The Golden Eagles edged out the Hawks 25-21 in another close set to tie the game again. However, New Paltz would respond. The Hawks won the third set 25-11, dominating Brockport.
The fourth set was tied 20-20, and neither team wanted to give an edge. New Paltz took a 23-21 lead, appearing like they would win the game, before Brockport came storming back to take a 24-23 lead. From there, the two teams battled back and forth vying for control. While leading 28-27 with a set point, an attack error from New Paltz would complete the late comeback for the Golden Eagles, leading to a final fifth set.
The Golden Eagles rode the momentum from the last set and jumped to a quick 5-0 lead. Brockport would lead 13-7 before allowing New Paltz to come back and almost even the score, trailing Brockport 13-14 in the final moments. Junior Ashley Allen set up freshman Alexis Sison for the clutch final kill to come away with the victory.
Brockport recorded 67 points on 56 kills, 54 assists and five serving aces in addition to six blocks and 89 digs. Graduate student Andrea Coyle led the attack for the Golden Eagles, coming away with 18 kills and digs each. Senior Madalyn Bowen followed up her SUNYAC Defensive Athlete of the Week award with 17 digs. Bowen currently leads the conference in digs per set, averaging 4.83 digs per set, while reigning two-time SUNYAC “Offensive Athlete of the Week” senior Jordan Thompson earned 15.5 points in Friday’s victory.
The Golden Eagles had an early 1 p.m. start vs. Oneonta coming off their big conference victory on Friday. They were able to use some of that energy to make quick work of the Red Dragons and come away with a 3-0 sweep.
Oneonta managed to keep it close to start the match. The score was tied 15-15 before the Golden Eagles went on an 8-0 run to win the first set 25-17.
Brockport dominated the second set from the opening serve and benefited from an early 8-0 lead. The Red Dragons never recovered from the deficit, losing the set 25-10.
Oneonta fought hard in the final set and held an early 4-2 lead. Brockport quickly recovered from their slow start and tied the game 9-9. From there, it was a back-and-forth contest that could’ve gone either way. The Golden Eagles began to pull away after going on a 4-0 run while leading 18-17. From there, Brockport was able to close out the Red Dragons 25-22 and complete the sweep.
The Golden Eagles outscored Oneonta in all six statistical categories. Brockport recorded 57 points, 43 kills, 41 assists, eight aces, six blocks and 55 digs.
Allen led Brockport with 23 assists, while Bowen had a team high of 13 digs and three serving aces, same as graduate student Kerri McHale. Coyle’s 13 kills led the Golden Eagles, and her three blocks were tied with graduate student Myah Frostclapp for a team high.
The Golden Eagles record improved to 11-3 and 2-0 against conference opponents. Their next home match is Wednesday, September 28 at 6 p.m. They’ll face SUNY Geneseo as their third conference opponent in a row.
