Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – For the Plattsburgh State volleyball team (5-7), there was no place like home this weekend as the Cardinals lost just one set en route to claiming the 2013 Best Western/Ground Round Cardinal Classic championship on Saturday afternoon in Memorial Hall.
MATCH ONE: Plattsburgh State 3, Elms 0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-15)
In what turned out to be more of a warm-up match for the battle to come, Plattsburgh State had little trouble dropping Elms in straight sets. As a team, the Cardinals hit .418 in the match while limiting the Blazers to negative hitting (-.024) through the course of the three-set bout.
Three attack errors by the Blazers helped the Cardinals embark on a 6-1 run to open the match. After Elms crept back to within three points (6-3), Plattsburgh State responded with a 7-1 burst that featured a trio of kills from sophomore Jeanette Braun.
Elms never really threatened again in the set, and senior Amanda Wickers – who was honored in a short senior day ceremony prior to the start of the match – came up with the two Plattsburgh State service aces in the frame.
The Blazers took their only lead of the match by scoring the first point of the second set because of a Plattsburgh State miscue before the Cardinals regained control.
Leading 10-8, the setting tandem of Kristen Marchisotto and Meghan Clifford began to set up junior Maggie Schrantz on a consistent basis who kick-started a 9-1 Plattsburgh State spurt with three consecutive terminations.
Sophomore Laura Diehl proved to be the other bookend to the run as she smashed down the last four kills of the run that made it 19-9 Plattsburgh State.
Although the third set was the most contested of the match, Plattsburgh State eventually put some distance between itself and the Blazers with another well-timed run, this one of the 9-3 variety that gave the home team a 14-8 advantage.
Elms would threaten just once more, as it pulled to within 14-12 before a 9-2 run that finished with three straight services aces by Rosi Cummings gave the home team a 23-14 advantage.
Cummings added to her Cardinal Classic MVP campaign with another dazzling outing consisting of 11 kills, the three aces and seven digs. The Plattsburgh, N.Y., product hit .476 during the match, second only to Diehl.
The sophomore added 10 kills while sporting an impressive hitting percentage of .563. Kristin Marchisotto passed out a team-high 18 assists while Meghan Clifford added 16 and two of the Cardinals' 10 service aces.
JC Pickett came up with six terminations for the Blazers while Caitlyn Larvey accumulated a match-high 11 digs.
MATCH TWO: Plattsburgh State 3, Saint Michael's 1 (25-22, 28-26, 17-25, 25-23)
In arguably its most well-rounded match of the season, the Cardinals overcame statistical deficiencies in nearly every major category to down Saint Michael's in four sets and win the 2013 Best Western/Ground Round Cardinal Classic.
The back-and-forth tilt began with the Cardinals taking a 3-1 lead in the opening set due to kills by Schrantz and Diehl. As they would do all match, however, the Purple Knights fought back with some strong play by their towering front line and powerful brigade of outside hitters.
Errors proved to be the worst enemy for Saint Michael's in the first frame, as the Cardinals accumulated three of their six points during a 6-1 run by way of errant Purple Knight attack attempts. Leading 10-7, the Cardinals never gave up the lead in the first set, but Saint Michael's did all it could to try and steal the frame.
Leading 22-18, the Cardinals gave up a 4-1 run to Saint Michael's before the visitors finished themselves off with a service error and a ball handling error to give Plattsburgh State a 25-22 win and a 1-0 lead.
Until the very end, the second set belonged solely to Saint Michael's. As the Purple Knights took a 22-17 lead, it appeared as though the Cardinals would wind up knotted at one set each with their adversaries. Fortunately, Plattsburgh State's offense chose that moment to come alive.
An 8-2 run that featured terminations from five different Cardinals put the home team on top 25-24. After Saint Michael's rattled off the next two points, Cummings and Schrantz hammered down one kill each and coupled with another Saint Michael's attack error, the Cardinals took a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, Saint Michael's took control with a 14-4 run to pick up their only set victory of the match.
Although the Cardinals held the lead for the entirety of the fourth set, it was anything but a drama-free victory for the home squad. Deadlocked at 10, the Cardinals put their multi-pronged offensive attack on display once again with a 7-1 run that culminated with a kill from Cummings.
As the Cardinals held a 20-14 lead in the late stages of the match, Saint Michael's came all the way back to tie matters at 23-all, but Diehl put the final nail in the coffin with a kill followed by a match-clinching service ace.
With a 16-kill, 17-dig performance, Cummings put the finishing touches on her MVP weekend. Joining the team captain in double-digit kills were Schrantz (15) and Diehl (15, .220 hitting percentage). Wickers scooped up a team-high 28 digs while Marchisotto dished out 33 of the Cardinals' 55 assists.
Kelsey Flaherty and Chelsey Covitz each had 12 kills to lead Saint Michael's. Jess McLeod racked up a match-high 41 assists while Natilie Moore contributed a match-high 33 digs to the losing effort.
After a lengthy volleyball hiatus, the Cardinals will return to action on Friday, September 27, when they head to Brockport, N.Y., to take part in their first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) pool play weekend of the season. The Cardinals will take on New Paltz in their opening match at 7 p.m.
2013 Best Western/Ground Round Cardinal Classic All-Tournament Team
Plattsburgh State (1st) – Rosi Cummings (MVP)
Saint Michael's (2nd) – Kelsey Flaherty
Plymouth State (3rd) – Kaitlyn Coon
Elms (4th) – Shannon Bolton
Cazenovia (5th) – Samantha McCarthy
Norwich (6th) – Alex Palmer
