SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Sophomore Keara Page matched her season high with 13 kills, but the Union College women's volleyball team fell a few points short in the third and fourth sets as the Dutchwomen were defeated by Oswego State, 3-1 (25-19, 12-25, 25-21, 26-25) on day one of the Skidmore College Invitational at the Williamson Center.
 
Page led all players with her 13 kills on 28 attempts (.357 hitting), followed by classmate Morgan Bohlke with seven kills and junior Julia Webster with six. Senior Olivia Salvador and junior Haley Kresch both flirted with double-doubles as well, with Kresch (11 digs, nine assists) coming one assist short and Salvador adding a match-high 18 digs and eight assists.
 
Both teams traded early runs in the first set, with a 5-0 Union stretch followed immediately by six straight Oswego points. The Dutchwomen took their last lead at 11-10 after a kill from sophomore Caroline Fraser before the Lakers scored eight of the next 10 points to take control at 18-13, and Union could get no closer than three the rest of the way.
 
Union went on a big run that went unanswered in the second stanza, a massive 13-1 spurt that opened up a commanding 15-5 lead. Bohlke had two kills and Kresch recorded two aces during the run, which allowed the team to cruise to a 25-12 victory.
 
The Dutchwomen could never fully shake off a slow start in the third set, scoring three straight points to get back within one at 12-11 following a kill by junior Denesha Lafontant. However, the team could never pull all the way back to even.
 
Oswego looked to be in good shape in the fourth set, sitting two points from a victory at 23-15. But Union did not give up, scoring three in a row to get to 23-18, and then staving off six straight match points to even the score at 24-all. Two aces from sophomore Sophia Estok and kills by Page (two) and first-year Kirsten Litchfield helped to keep Union alive. The Dutchwomen killed off another match point thanks to another Page kill, but a service error and an Oswego kill put an end to the set and the match.
 
Union will close out the season with two matches at Skidmore tomorrow against New Paltz at 1 p.m. and Potsdam at 3 p.m.