SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College women's volleyball team split two matches on the second day of the Union Invitational at the Viniar Athletic Center on Saturday, falling in five sets to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy before coming back to sweep Plattsburgh State University.
 
Coast Guard 3, Union 2 (20-25, 25-18, 25-17, 21-25, 15-13)
 
Three players reached double figures in kills for Union, led by junior Lara Atalay with a match-high 18 kills and a team-best 24 digs. Classmate Gillian Gore also had a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs, while fellow junior Sage Shimamoto chipped in a match-best 37 assists.
 
Coast Guard committed only one error in the opening set, but Union hit .333 with 16 kills to grab the early lead. The Dutchwomen earned the match's first three points on kills and blocks by juniors Steph Libonati and Julia Louis, and the home team never trailed in taking the opening frame.
 
The two teams remained close for the early portion of the second stanza, with the Bears holding a slight 11-10 lead before eight straight points gave CGA some breathing room. The visitors took advantage of some more good serving and .355 hitting in the third set to take a 2-1 lead.
 
But Union battled back in the fourth frame, grabbing an early lead and never allowing Coast Guard to mount a comeback. Louis and Atalay led the team with four kills each in the frame, with Louis putting down four of her five attacks.
 
The decisive fifth set was appropriately the closest of them all, featuring seven ties and two lead changes. Union held a two-point lead on three occasions, the last coming at 7-5 after an Atalay ace. The home team still lead 10-9 after a CGA attack error, but two kills and an ace gave the Bears back the lead. From there, Coast Guard was content to alternate points the rest of the way to earn the win.
 
Union 3, Plattsburgh State 0 (25-9, 25-21, 25-13)
 
The second match of the day went a little better for the Dutchwomen, as Union hit. 400 as a team on the way to a sweep of the Cardinals.
 
Junior Katie Moss was excellent in the win for Union, putting down a match-high 12 kills on 21 errorless attacks (.571 hitting). Libonati had the team's best hitting percentage, attacking at a .636 clip (seven kills on 11 errorless chances), while Atalay added nine kills on .368 hitting.
 
Freshman Haley Kresch chipped in a team-leading 21 assists as well, while junior Kaylee Velasquez added a team-best 13 digs.
 
Plattsburgh held a 6-4 lead early in the first set before a huge run by the home team on the serves of Gore and Libonati, an 18-1 stretch that featured four aces by Libonati and four kills from Atalay. The Cardinals held the lead for much of the second stanza, but another late 5-0 run on Gore's serve put Union back up for good.
 
The visitors scored the first five points of the third set, but that was quickly countered by five in a row by Union and then five more than put the Dutchwomen up 10-6, and the home team was able to finish off the match from there.
 
For the match, Union put down 44 kills on 90 attempts and also recorded 15 service aces, including four each by Atalay, Gore and Libonati.
 
Union will return to action next Saturday with two matches at the Stevenson University Tri-Match against the host Mustangs and St. Mary's College of Maryland.