CANTON, N.Y. – A hotly contested North Country volleyball battle went to four sets, but the Plattsburgh State volleyball team came up short in a 3-1 loss to St. Lawrence at Burkman Gymnasium on Tuesday night.

The midweek tussle saw the Cardinals fall to 5-15 in 2014 while the Saints improved to 19-10. St. Lawrence out-hit the Cardinals .194 to .031 during the non-conference bout.

In order to extend the match to more than three sets, the Cardinals first had to overcome a difficult first frame. A St. Lawrence attack error staked the visitors to an early 1-0 lead, but that was one of the few bright spots in the frame for the Cardinals.

Directly after the Saints committed the miscue, they rattled off 10 of the next 11 points to take an insurmountable 10-2 lead.

Plattsburgh State was able to climb within seven points of the Saints thanks to a termination from senior Maggie Schrantz which made matters 10-3, but St. Lawrence surrendered no more ground to the visitors and took a 1-0 lead with a 25-10 set one triumph.

A sloppy St. Lawrence squad opposed the Cardinals to begin the second frame. Five of the first six Plattsburgh State points came off of errors by the Saints while a Schrantz kill accounted for the other which gave Plattsburgh State a 6-3 edge.

The Cardinals lead, however, was short-lived as the Saints got back in their offensive groove by embarking on a 10-2 scoring spree. Four St. Lawrence players chipped in kills during the surge while Katie Rowell added back-to-back service aces to put the Cardinals at a 13-8 disadvantage.

Unable to slow the Saints' attack, Plattsburgh State eventually found itself staring at a 20-13 deficit before the visitors turned the tables. Five Cardinals recorded points as part of a 10-2 run which placed the Cardinals on top by a 23-22 tally. Freshmen Jordynne Ales and Miranda Sheffer each tallied a service ace during the run.

The squads engaged in a back-and-forth battle for the remainder of the set, eventually heading to extra points to settle things. With the score knotted at 26-all, the Cardinals employed consecutive kills from Noelle Miller and Schrantz to earn a 28-26 win and knot the match at one set apiece.

Undeterred by the Cardinals' second-set victory, St. Lawrence put its offensive firepower on display in the third frame, opening up an 11-4 lead on the strength of five kills, three service aces and a pair of blocks on the defensive end.

Spurred by a pair of solo rejections by junior Emily Miller, the Cardinals would regain their footing and trim the Saints' edge to just two with a 12-6 run that made the score 18-16. The Cardinals concluded the surge with kill from Emily Miller, Noelle Miller and senior Meghan Clifford.

Two points, though, was as close as the Cardinals would come to securing the lead. Another Cardinal service ace – this time off the hand of freshman Evelyn Vicencio – made the score 23-21, but the Saints recorded the final two points of the set to take a 2-1 lead.

Determined to push the match to its' maximum length, the Cardinals weather an early 3-0 run by the Saints and went on to take an 11-8 lead in the fourth frame. Junior Amanda Robinson began a 4-0 Plattsburgh State run with a kill before St. Lawrence errors pushed the Cardinals' lead to three.

Once again, though, St. Lawrence had a response up its sleeve. A 9-3 scoring surge in which five different Saints floored terminations gave the home squad a 17-14 lead.

Plattsburgh State's final push came when Schrantz and Emily Miller each hammered down a kill to pull the Cardinals within two, 19-17. St. Lawrence buckled down and finished the match with a 6-1 run to earn the hard-fought win.

Schrantz finished the match with a team-best 10 kills for the Cardinals while Clifford, a fellow final-year player, registered a team-high 19 assists. Ales took the lead in the digs department for Plattsburgh State, finishing with 13.

A trio of Saints – Becky Briggs (10), Cristina Deschaine (10) and Lexi Brown (11) – registered double-digits in the kill column. Jenna Street added a double-double with match highs of 26 assists and 15 digs. Mariah Dignan chipped in 14 digs of her own to go along with five of the Saints' 12 service aces.

On Friday night, Plattsburgh State will make its return to Memorial Hall to re-engage in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action. As the host for a round of SUNYAC pool play, the Cardinals will welcome five other league foes into their home arena. The Cardinals will kick things off with a battle against SUNY Potsdam at 5 p.m.