ONEONTA, N.Y. – In its final weekend of non-conference play before partaking in its last of four SUNYAC regular season matches of 2012, the Plattsburgh State volleyball team couldn’t get on the winning track, dropping a 3-0 decision to Lebanon Valley College before losing a heartbreaking 3-2 match to Hartwick at the Hartwick College/Holiday Inn Invitational on Friday (Oct. 12).
 
MATCH ONE: Lebanon Valley 3, Plattsburgh State 0 (26-24, 25-22, 26-24)
Eking out a victory by just seven points, the Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen just outlasted the Cardinals in the first match of the day for both squads.
 
The Cardinals had little trouble navigating the porous defense of the Dutchmen, employing a .269 hitting percentage through the course of the tilt, but was unable to string together crucial points at big moments.
 
Maggie Schrantz led the Cardinals with eight kills on 16 swings with just three errors for an attack percentage of .312. Rosi Cummings was close behind her younger teammate, registering seven terminations. The senior attacked effectively, cobbling together a team-high hitting percentage of .417 in the match.
 
Cummings added eight of Plattsburgh State’s 21 digs and a pair of solo blocks to the cause. Unfortunately, after Schrantz and Cummings offense was in short supply, with senior Abby Mell racked up three kills as the next closest player in that department.
 
Kayla Nason passed out 17 assists while Mell picked up a pair of block assists. The Cardinals finished with four blocks and a quartet of service aces in the match – two of which came courtesy of Nason.
 
MATCH TWO: Hartwick 3, Plattsburgh State 2 (25-20, 21-25, 29-31, 25-15, 15-13)
Although it possessed a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set, the Cardinals couldn’t keep their momentum up and would up dropping their match against the host institution.
 
After falling into a 1-0 hole to begin the match, the Cardinals rattled off two consecutive set victories to take their only lead of the match. Set three was hard-fought, featuring some 18 ties through the course of the frame. Neither team could obtain the momentum until the Cardinals took advantage of an errant attack by the Hawks that accounted for point 31 and a 2-1 lead.
 
From there, however, the hosts imposed their will in a pivotal fourth set where the Cardinals found themselves trailing by as many as seven in the early goings. Plattsburgh State got to within four points before a decisive 10-0 run by Hartwick knotted things at two.
 
Eager to earn the season sweep of the Hawks, the Cardinals came out firing on all cylinders in the deciding set, jumping out to an early 3-1 lead and maintaining an advantage throughout the majority of the set.
 
The Hawks, though, just wouldn’t go away as they kept chipping away at the Cardinals’ lead before eventually knotting things at 10. From there, the Hawks took control and used a decisive 3-0 run to take control of the match. Plattsburgh State fought to within one at 14-13, but couldn’t complete the comeback.
 
Again it was Schrantz leading the charge as the sophomore out of Buffalo, N.Y., tallied a team-high 11 terminations on 43 swings. Schrantz completed her double-double with 13 digs. Cummings produced a double-double of her own, accumulating to 10 kills while scooping up a team-high 22 digs to go along with a solo block.
 
Mell finished with eight kills and a service ace as well as playing the part of the most imposing player in the Plattsburgh State front row. The senior added a pair of solo blocks and two more block assists as part of the Cardinals’ 7.5 blocks in the match.
 
Laura Diehl had seven kills and three of the seven Plattsburgh State service aces. Jeanette Braun had the most efficient outing, putting up an attack percentage of .357 thanks to five kills on 14 attempts. Kristen Marchisatto and Nason finished with 17 and 11 assists respectively.
 
The Cardinals will try to get back in the win column on Saturday (Oct. 13) as they play another pair of matches in Oneonta. Up first is a 1 p.m. tilt with Utica before the Cardinals take on SUNY Cobleskill at 3 p.m. in their final match of the Invitational.