subject agreement of colltective nouns

[liyihong2006]

In the prep
Greatly influenced by the Protestant missionary Samuel Kirkland, the Oneida was the only one of
the five-nation Iroquois League who sided with the colonists during the American Revolution.

(A) was the only one of the five-nation Iroquois League who sided
(B) was alone of the five-nation Iroquois League when they sided
(C) alone among the five nations of the Iroquois League sided
(D) were the only ones out of the five nations of the Iroquois League in siding
(E) only of the five-nation Iroquois League had sided

I chose A. The Manhattan said almost all the collective nouns should be singular in GMAT.(Now, I know that A is incorrect due to other reasons, and the answer is C)
However, the explaination of this says A is wrong becuase collective nouns should be plural in the respects of tribes, dynasties,and names...
so, which one is correct in the GMAT? collective nouns is singular or plural?
thx in advance....

[RonPurewal]

please search the forum!

this thread contains the answer to your question:
greatly-influenced-by-the-protestant-missionary-samuel-t648.html