NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State volleyball team suffered from a lack of offense in their first day of SUNYAC Pool Play at New Paltz, dropping a pair of 3-0 decisions to the host institution as well as SUNY Potsdam.
 
MATCH ONE: NEW PALTZ 3, PLATTSBURGH STATE 0 (25-10, 25-16, 25-14)
If the first few points of the match between the Cardinals (11-16, 0-6 SUNYAC) and the Hawks were any indication, it was going to be a close match between the SUNYAC foes. After surrendering the initial pair of points in the match, Laura Diehl slammed down a pair of equalizing terminations to bring the Cardinals to tie the set at two each before the Hawks forcefully grabbed control of the match. Five kills and a trio of service aces made up an 8-0 run for the host squad that left the Cardinals reeling.
 
Aside from Diehl, who accumulated five kills in the opening frame, it was difficult for any other player on the Plattsburgh State roster to have any offensive success. Plattsburgh’s defense was rendered largely ineffective again the Hawks, who hit .389 in the opening frame while holding the Cardinals to a mark of .079.
 
Determined to come out strong in the second set, the Cardinals played back-and-forth volleyball with New Paltz as they tied the game up on three occasions in the early goings, before succumbing to another big run by the hosts. A 9-1 spurt by the Hawks, which featured the same three service ace/five kill combo which led to the setback in the first set, put the Cardinals in a 12-4 hole.
 
New Paltz saw their lead grow to as many as 10 points at 18-8 before Plattsburgh State began to make things interesting. Trailing 21-9, the Cardinals used a 5-0 run which featured a trio of New Paltz attack errors as well as a kill from Rosi Cummings to pull within seven points. That was as close as the Cardinals would get though, as three more kills as well as yet another service ace provided the four points necessary to put Plattsburgh State at a 2-0 disadvantage.
 
The Cardinals captured their first lead of the match when Michelle Jacobson committed an attack error for the first point of the deciding set, but another big run by the Hawks put the Cardinals in another sizable hole. An 8-1 tear keyed by Becca Borquist’s three kills put the Hawks in charge early before Plattsburgh State battled back once again.
 
Thanks an attack error by Caitlin Fay, the Cardinals closed to within four points, but a 4-1 run by the hosts quickly put the kibosh on any plans Plattsburgh State possessed to stay close with their SUNYAC foes. The Cardinals were once again held under the 15-point mark in the deciding set and were unable to string together points on a consistent basis, never picking up consecutive tallies in the frame.
 
Diehl led the way with six kills and a block while Cummings and Maggie Schrantz added four terminations each. Kristen Marchisatto dished out 11 assists and scooped up a team-high 10 digs. The Cardinals were limited to a .061 hitting percentage in the tilt.
 
New Paltz racked up 12 service aces in the match and hit a scorching .321, smashing home 48 kills. Jacobson led the way with a match-high 12 kills and was one of three Hawks that had a plus-.400 hitting percentage. Marissa King dished out 36 assists while Borquist added seven kills on 11 swings for a hitting percentage of .636.
 
GAME TWO: SUNY POTSDAM 3, PLATTSBURGH STATE 0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-23)
After suffering from an offensive deficiency in their first match of the day, the Cardinals came out firing on all cylinders against Potsdam. The opening minutes of the match featured six deadlocks before a bad set by the Bears followed by a termination by Schrantz gave the Cardinals an 8-6 lead.
 
Having earned control of the set early on, the Cardinals kept pouring it on, using a 5-0 run featuring kills from Cummings and Abby Mell as well as a trio of Potsdam blunders to take a 13-8 lead. Plattsburgh State maintained a comfortable edge of as many as six points after a kill off the hand of Diehl made it 19-13 Cardinals.
 
Although it looked like the Cardinals would take a 1-0 lead into the second game, things quickly turned disastrous when the Bears employed a 10-1 run trailing 22-15 to steal the first set from the Cardinals. Attack errors and bad sets accounted for four Potsdam points during the game-changing run while a pair of blocks eventually put the Cardinals in a 1-0 hole. After hitting .375 in the early stages of the set, the Cardinals lost control of their offense, finishing with a mark of .128 in the frame.
 
A pair of attack errors by Sara Anderson gave the Cardinals an early 2-0 lead in the second stanza before the Bears took charge with a 5-0 run featuring three consecutive service aces from Jenna Blujus. Thanks to the spurt, the Bears snatched the momentum and ran, going on to lead by as many as 10 points before a pair of kills from Schrantz followed by a Potsdam attack error slimmed the Plattsburgh deficit to just seven at 18-11.
 
That was as close as the Cardinals would come though, as a 7-3 spurt by the Bears gave them a 2-0 edge in the match. Four of the five service aces by the Bears through the first two sets came in the second frame.
 
It appeared as though the Cardinals would force a fourth set as they led throughout the majority of the deciding frame, but another late Potsdam run brought the match to an early conclusion. Leading 20-15, the Cardinals allowed a devastating 9-1 run that virtually put the match out of reach.
 
The Potsdam offense was at their best late in the frame, registering kills from all angles and a strong front row presence made things that much more difficult for the Cardinals to close things out.
 
Cummings led the way for the Cardinals with a team-high 11 kills and completed her double-double with 15 digs.
 
Anderson had a match-high 12 terminations to lead the Bears while Rachel Auerbach added 10. The Cardinals were out-hit .175 to .078 and only mustered four blocks compared to nine by the Bears.
 
Plattsburgh State will try and get into the SUNYAC win column for the first time in 2012 on Saturday (Oct. 20) when they play their final pair of league games this season. First up is a match with nationally-ranked SUNY Cortland at noon before a showdown with Oneonta State at 2 p.m.