ONEONTA, N.Y. – Thanks to a 2-0 final day at the 2012 Oneonta State Invitational, the Plattsburgh State volleyball team finished the Invitational as the fifth-place team out of ten squads. More importantly, the Cardinals secured their best start in over half a decade with the victories.
MATCH ONE: PLATTSBURGH STATE 3, EMMANUEL COLLEGE 0
Balance was the name of the game for the Cardinals in their first volleyball bout of the day as they bested the Saints in straight sets (25-21, 25-16, 26-24). Freshman middle hitter Laura Diehl shouldered the majority of the load, finishing with eight kills and a trio of block assists.
Not far behind in the race for total individual points was senior Rosi Cummings, who chipped in eight kills of her own to go with six digs and a block assist. An especially formidable force at the front of the net, Maggie Schrantz came away with three solo blocks, one block assist as well as a quartet of terminations.
Jeanette Braun contributed seven kills to the SUNY Plattsburgh cause with as well as an assist and a block assist. Meghan Clifford was the primary dispenser of offense, racking up 17 assists while Kristen Marchisatto and Kayla Nason chipped in eight each.
MATCH TWO: PLATTSBURGH STATE 3, HOUGHTON COLLEGE 1
After being down 1-0 one day ago, the Cardinals found themselves in a similar situation against the Highlanders before reeling off three consecutive set victories to ensure a top-five tournament finish.
Cummings was the primary catalyst for the Cardinals, finishing with 15 kills on 38 swings and completing her double-double with 12 digs. The senior also proved to be dangerous from the service stripe, picking up three aces as well as a block assist in her most well-rounded match of the young season.
The service game was another large part of the potent SUNY Plattsburgh offense in the fifth-place game, as the Cardinals registered 13 total service aces which included a match-high four off the hand of senior Abby Mell.
Producing the final piece of the winning equation was the front row for the Cardinals, which finished with nine total blocks. Mell, Drehl and Theresa Lilly each picked up four block assists.
Marchisatto and Clifford finished with 19 and 18 assists respectively, while Amanda Wickers led the way in the digs department with 13.
Cummings and Diehl were standout performers thorughout the weekend, representing the Cardinals on the All-Tournament Team.
The Cardinals stay on the road next weekend (September 7-8) to take part in the Victory Promotions Invitational hosted by SUNY Potsdam. Their first foil of the four-game tourney will be St. Lawrence, with the first serve scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday.
