NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State volleyball team picked up its first SUNYAC triumph of 2012 thanks to a 3-0 decision over Oneonta at SUNYAC Pool Play in New Paltz on Saturday (Oct. 20).
 
Plattsburgh State improves its 2012 mark to 12-17 including a 1-7 tally in the SUNYAC.
 
MATCH ONE: No. 11 Cortland 3, Plattsburgh State 1 (25-10, 23-25, 25-11, 25-17)
The Red Dragons came out and showed the Cardinals why that had garnered – and maintained – such a high ranking in the national poll, hitting a blistering .364 in a one-sided first set while limiting Plattsburgh State to a mark of .000.
 
An 8-1 run by the Cardinals had pulled to within 9-6 put the game out of reach for the Cardinals, who mustered just five kills in the frame. The Red Dragons, meanwhile, piled up four service aces and received five more points off of Plattsburgh State attack errors.
 
Mustering all the moxie they possessed, the Cardinals stormed back in a big way in the second set, taking it to the league favorites with runs of 4-0, 4-0 and 5-0 to even things up at one set each. With a much better attack percentage of .222, the Cardinals defense also shored itself up, limiting the Red Dragons to a .250 mark in the set.
 
Rosi Cummings had four terminations in the set as well as a service and Laura Diehl finished Cortland off with her third kill of the frame.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Red Dragons came out like gangbusters in the third frame, making use of a 16-3 run to take control of the match. Seven of those points came courtesy of the Cardinals, thanks to errors on the attack and service game.
 
Another big run by Cortland, this one of the 11-3 variety, greeted the Cardinals in the deciding frame. Unfazed, the Cardinals fought back led by Maggie Schrantz who tallied three kills in the frame to bring the Cardinals to within three points on three occasions.
 
Runs of 4-0 and 3-0, though, handed the Cardinals their only setback of the day via a 3-1 tally. Cummings led the Plattsburgh attack with 11 kills and completed her double-double with 11 digs.
 
Kristen Marchisatto distributed 22 assists in the contest while Amanda Wickers dug out a team-high 14 balls during the tilt. Meghan Clifford also reached double-digits in the digs department finishing with 13.
 
The Cardinals had a tough time trying to smash point home through a formidable Cortland defense which piled up seven blocks during the affair. Ashley Coyle had a match-high 22 kills for the Dragons who hit .272 in the match and piled up 10 service aces.
 
MATCH TWO: Plattsburgh State 3, Oneonta 0 (25-23, 25-22, 27-25)
Seeing a far tamer edition of the Red Dragons in their match against Oneonta later in the day, the Cardinals were able to earn their first SUNYAC victory of the season thanks to a multi-pronged attack strategy that featured Cummings and Schrantz who finished with 14 and 13 terminations respectively.
 
A 5-0 run put the Cardinals in control after kills from Jeanette Braun, Schrantz and Cummings and it looked as though Plattsburgh State would cruise to a 1-0 lead before Oneonta put up a fight in the later stages of the match.
 
Possessing a 21-17 edge, the Cardinals fell victim to a 5-0 run by the Red Dragons and fell behind 22-21. Abby Mell got the Cardinals back on track, though, putting down a kill followed up by a pair of miscues by the Red Dragons. Mell smashed home the deciding kill of the set, giving the Cardinals their first lead of the weekend.
 
Oneonta didn’t make things easy for the Cardinals as they jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the second set and held as large as a six-point lead before the offense came alive for the Cardinals. Trailing 18-12, an Oneonta ball handling error set the stage for a 5-0 run by the Cardinals that featured a service ace from Schrantz and a kill from Cummings.
 
Plattsburgh finally obtained the lead after a Mell service ace and yet another unforced error by the Red Dragons. With a 21-20 edge, the Cardinals had all the momentum in their corner and opened up a 2-0 lead in the match after Schrantz pounded home yet another kill.
 
It looked as though four-set volleyball was in order as Oneonta took a 20-15 lead in the third set, but the Cardinals had the answer again. Cummings, Marchisatto and Mell reeled off service aces as part of an 8-3 spurt that tied things up as 23.
 
After trading points, the Red Dragons took a 25-24 lead, but the Cardinals were able to tie it up for one final time after an attack error by Oneonta. From there, Cummings finished things off with a kill coupled with another attack error.
 
The Cardinals overcame 12 blocks and 10 service aces by Oneonta to record the victory, and limited the Red Dragons to a .177 hitting percentage while putting up a .180 mark. Cummings had her second double-double of the day after registering a team-high 13 digs in the tilt.
 
With their 2012 conference slate complete, the Cardinals will head for New York, N.Y., next Friday (Oct. 26) to take part in the New York State Challenge. They will face off against the host institution at 5 p.m. before tangling with Mount Saint Mary at 7 p.m. that same day.