PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Making its' return to Memorial Hall, the Plattsburgh State volleyball team aimed to earn their first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win of the season in front of a large congregation of Cardinal well-wishers.

Instead, the Cardinals came up on the short end of a 3-2 (22-25, 25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 15-9) bout with North Country and conference rival SUNY Potsdam. Plattsburgh State secured an early 1-0 lead before the Bears scored next two sets. Although the home squad emerged victorious in the fourth set, SUNY Potsdam would have the last laugh by taking set five and the match.

The Cardinals see their record move to 5-16 and 0-7 in SUNYAC play while the Bears rise to 7-18 and 1-6 in conference battles. Senior Maggie Schrantz conjured up a 17-kill, 10-dig double-double performance while Emily Miller added 14 terminations of her own on a .379 attack percentage.

Locked in a battle for the first SUNYAC win of the season for either side, the match proved to be extremely tight throughout with no set settled by more than six points. Set one saw the home team obtain the upper hand after senior Meghan Clifford smacked an ace from the service line to put the Cardinals up 11-10.

The Bears, though, regained the upper hand by employing a 6-2 run which featured a pair of terminations from Chelsea Sunday and two aces from freshman Rachel Topf.

Led by senior Maggie Schrantz, the Cardinals were able to take the lead for good in the opening set. During the pivotal 7-2 run, Schrantz hammered down a trio of terminations while freshman Jordynne Ales pumped in a service ace for good measure.

Potsdam pulled to within 22-21, but another kill from Schrantz and a pair of ball handling errors by the Bears allowed the Cardinals to take a 1-0 lead.

Although first-year player Mirada Sheffer staked the Cardinals to a 1-0 lead in the second frame, the Bears responded with an 11-4 surge to emerge as the frontrunners for the set. Plattsburgh State saw the Bears' edge balloon to as many as eight points down the stretch thanks to a .242 attack percentage.

Falling behind 22-13, the Cardinals closed to within four on a trio of Potsdam errors, a service ace from Sheffer and a kill from Schrantz. The Bears, though, posted three of the final four points to knot the match at one.

The Bears kept rolling well into the middle frame, swinging at a .387 clip to make sure the Cardinals would never take the lead.

A 7-1 start to the fourth set was just the kind of response Plattsburgh State required, though. Through the course of the opening scoring spree, Sheffer tallied a trio of aces while both Schrantz and sophomore Jackie Mariotti floored a kill.

Even though the Bears would regain some of their composure and climb within three points, 21-18, the Cardinals would score four of the final six points to knot matters at two sets apiece. Amanda Robinson and Noelle Miller teamed up for a combo block for the 25^th points of the set for Plattsburgh.

Determined to win the match, the Bears came out swinging in the deciding set. Sunday and Liza Fields led the charge during an 8-2 surge to begin the frame, smashing down two kills each.

Simply put, the Cardinals had no response for the Bears and their .500 attack percentage.

Clifford recorded 40 of the Cardinals' 49 assists while Ales chipped in a team-high 21 digs in the loss.

Sunday enjoyed a double-double of her own – one of the 22-kill and 12 dig variety. Annie Smith added 16 kills for the Bears while Gabby Arana hustled down a match-high 31 digs.

Saturday's SUNYAC bouts will serve as the Cardinals' final pair of home matches in the 2014 campaign. Additionally, those matches will be the final pair in the careers of Plattsburgh State's two seniors – Schrantz and Clifford. Before the Cardinals face off against Oneonta State at 10 a.m. and SUNY Cortland at 12:30 p.m., they will honor the contributions of their two final-year players with a brief ceremony.