GENESEO, N.Y. - SUNY Geneseo senior middle blocker Paige Pendleton notched a match-high 13 kills and .545 hitting percentage to lead the Knights to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-20) victory over Potsdam on the first day of the final State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Pool Play of the season.

Geneseo junior libero Danielle Sayler was credited with 18 digs while first-year setter Emily Ast added 30 assists and 10 digs in the victory. 

Pendleton joined classmates Lizzy Morton, Paige O'Connor, Jia Sha and Bethany VanDerMeid in a pre-match ceremony celebrating Senior Day.

In the first set, Geneseo (14-14, 3-4 SUNYAC) used a 10-3 run, keyed by three kills by junior outside hitter Tricia Baxley, to build a 14-6 lead en route to the 12-point first set win.  

Tied, 7-7, early in the second set, a kill by junior middle blocker Courtney Cleary started a decisive 14-5 Geneseo run that proved to be the difference. 

Geneseo started the third set on a 8-1 run, capped by a pair of Morton service aces, before the Bears (4-8, 0-7 SUNYAC) battled back with a 15-8 run of their own to take a 16-15 lead. Tied, 20-20, Geneseo scored the last five points of the set, including back-to-back O'Connor kills to close the match.

Geneseo closes out the conference portion of the SUNYAC season tomorrow, hosting Oswego at 10:00 a.m. and Fredonia at 12:30 p.m. The Knights remain in the hunt for one of the final four playoff spots up for grabs in the six-team SUNYAC Tournament field.