POTSDAM, N.Y. – After conjuring up a hard-fought five-set triumph on Friday night, the Plattsburgh State volleyball team (5-19) was unable to stay on the winning track as it fell to SUNY Canton and No. 16 Clarkson by identical 3-0 scores in its final two matches of the Golden Knight Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
MATCH ONE: SUNY Canton 3, Plattsburgh State 0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-18)Back-and-forth play dominated the early stages of the opening set, as the Cardinals found themselves trailing by just one point, 8-7.
From there, though, SUNY Canton began to string points together at an alarming rate. The Kangaroos closed out the set on a 17-6 surge to obtain a 1-0 lead in the match.
In the middle frame, Plattsburgh State managed to gain the upper hand with a 10-8 edge over the Kangaroos. Once again, though, SUNY Canton battled back to take the lead. This time the Kangaroos took seven of the next eight points before embarking on another run – this one of the 10-3 variety – to put the frame away.
The momentum the Kangaroos had gathered up through the first two sets was present in their corner again as SUNY Canton leaped out to a 7-1 lead in the deciding frame and didn't slow from there.
Plattsburgh State hit .000 in the match and was led by a five-kill performance from senior
Maggie Schrantz. The Buffalo, N.Y., product chipped in two of the Cardinals' eight service aces while freshman
Jordynne Ales added a team-best three.
Miranda Sheffer accumulated 10 digs for Plattsburgh State while
Meghan Clifford added a team-best 14 assists.
Morgan Bills paced SUNY Canton on the offensive end, pounding down 11 kills to go along with three service aces and a trio of block assists. Mackenzie Mynter added a double-double of 21 assists and 15 digs – both of which were match highs.
MATCH TWO: No. 16 Clarkson 3, Plattsburgh State 0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-17)Facing off against one of the top teams in all of NCAA Division III volleyball, the Cardinals were hard-pressed to put together any consistent offense. Furthermore, the Golden Knights showcased their talent from the service line, amassing 12 aces during the three-set bout.
Eight attack errors in the first set made things tough on Plattsburgh State, which hit -.069 in the opening frame.
Even though the Cardinals cleaned up their offensive game, the Golden Knights were able to maintain substantial leads in each of the final two sets to close out the match.
Schrantz and Sheffer each tallied six kills while
Emily Miller added two terminations of her own to go along with two block assists and three digs. Ales made a team-high 12 digs while Clifford added a Plattsburgh State-high 14 assists.
Victoria Kirkemo was the top offensive threat for Clarkson as she posted an 11-kill, 10-dig double-double to go along with five service aces.
Evanne Jiminez added a match-high 17 digs for the Golden Knights and Lauren Hutchinson totaled 36 assists.
The Cardinals will take part in a midweek, non-conference match at St. Lawrence on Tuesday night. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
