Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Shaking off a tough first home match of the season, the Plattsburgh State volleyball team rebounded by besting both Elms and Bridgewater State on the final day of the 2014 Best Western-Ground Round Cardinal Classic in Memorial Hall on Saturday. 

With the wins, the Cardinals improve to 4-4. Sage finished 3-0 at the tournament to earn the title while the Cardinals finished in second place with a 2-1 record over the weekend. Bridgewater State placed third, producing a 1-2 mark while Elms was the fourth-place team after going 0-3. 

MATCH ONE: Plattsburgh State 3, Elms 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-14)
In their quest for the first Memorial Hall victory of 2014 – and in the Jake Bluhm coaching era – the Cardinals fell behind early on to the Blazers as the visiting squad started the match on a 3-0 run.

With the help of senior Maggie Schrantz, the Cardinals were able to withstand their momentary offensive outage and embarked on a 7-2 surge of their own to take the lead for good. Schrantz hammered down three kills through the course of the run.

The Blazers closed to within one point, 12-11, before a 4-0 Cardinal run beginning with a termination from Melissa Wickers gave the home squad some breathing room. Plattsburgh State had to shake off one final push by the Blazers in the first frame after a service error by Jackie Mariotti helped the visiting team get within two, 20-18, before the Cardinals put the finishing touches on the set one triumph.

Kills from Wickers and Noelle Miller and Megan Clifford's first service ace of the match highlighted a 5-0 run to close out the frame and put the home team up 1-0.
All-Tournament Team selection Miranda Sheffer led the Plattsburgh State charge early on in the second set. The Port Kent, N.Y., product scored two of her 10 kills during an 8-3 run by the home squad to begin the set.

Elms responded by embarking on a scoring blitz of their own, tying matters at 11-all before Sheffer almost single-handedly brought the momentum back to the Cardinals' bench. Through the course of a 9-3 Plattsburgh State run, Sheffer amassed three of her four service aces and another pair of kills to put Plattsburgh State up 19-14.

Junior Emily Miller took control down the stretch of the middle set, getting terminations for the final four Plattsburgh State points of the set.

Up 2-0, the Cardinals applied more pressure to the gas pedal and opened up a 14-4 lead in the deciding frame. Sheffer pounded down another pair of terminations during the Cardinals' opening salvo while fellow freshman Jordynne Ales collected a pair of service aces.

Plattsburgh State never saw its edge dip below seven points for the remainder of the set, and a kill from Emily Miller followed by another service ace off the hand of Ales put the finishing touches on the Cardinals' first home win of the season.

Taking smart swings through the three-set bout, Emily Miller wound up with a match-high 11 kills on an impressive .550 attack percentage. In addition to her 10 terminations, Sheffer had match highs in service aces (four) as well as digs (15) to further cement her place on the All-Tournament Team.

Clifford passed out 27 of the 33 Plattsburgh State assists and directed the Cardinals' offense to a .218 attack percentage.

Kate Moriarty and Alexandra Mack each had seven kills for the Blazers who were limited to a hitting percentage of .033.

MATCH TWO: Plattsburgh State 3, Bridgewater State 1 (27-25, 28-30, 25-12, 25-23)
A hotly contested battle between the Cardinals and Bears was in store right from the get-go as no team enjoyed an advantage of more than four points through the course of the opening set.

Making use of kills from Emily Miller, Noelle Miller and Schrantz, Plattsburgh State opened up a 6-4 advantage early on before the Bears roared back to take a 10-9 lead thanks in large part to the hitting prowess of Clara Goncalves.

Goncalves had four terminations during the Bears' 6-3 run and never really saw her offensive numbers diminish through the remainder of the match.

Back-to-back termination from Wickers and Schrantz sandwiched between a Bridgewater State kill from Sarah Mullarkey gave the Cardinals a 17-13 lead, but Bridgewater State still wouldn't back down. After an Emily Miller kill made matters 24-21, the Bears fought off three straight match points and eventually took a 25-24 lead.

Plattsburgh State took the final three points of the match, with Emily Miller coming up with a big-time solo block to help the home team along.

Trailing 10-7 in the second frame, the Cardinals employed a 9-0 run to obtain a 16-10 lead before the Bears bounced back again. Plattsburgh State owned a 23-19 advantage, but the Bears shored up their front row play to force extra points. Three of the final six points scored by the visiting squad came by blocks, and the Bears snatched the second set 30-28 to tie the match.

Clifford spent the majority of the third set behind the service line for the Cardinals, but Plattsburgh State needed to overcome an early deficit before the senior could set up shop from that particular spot.

Trailing 11-8, Plattsburgh State used an impressive 17-1 run to close out the set and take a 2-1 lead. Clifford amassed five service aces through that span while Wickers and Noelle Miller chipped in two kills apiece.

In the deciding frame, the Cardinals never trailed and began the set on a 5-0 run. Bridgewater State played it close thanks to the play of Goncalves who finished the set with 10 kills, but the Cardinals hit .325 in the frame to earn their second win of the day.

Schrantz led the way offensively for the Cardinals, amassing 19 kills and completing a double-double with 11 digs. Emily Miller finished with 14 terminations while Mariotti added a team-high 21 digs. Clifford passed out a match-best 50 assists and completed her double-double with 17 digs.

Goncalves finished with a match-best 21 kills while Rachel Ducharme added 26 digs for the Bears. 

Plattsburgh State will hit the road for its next match, as it travels west to take on North Country rival SUNY Canton. The non-conference bout is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. 
 
2014 Best Western-Ground Round Cardinal Classic All-Tournament Team
Rachel Martin (MVP) – Sage
Helen Putriment – Sage
Meghan Clifford – Plattsburgh State
Miranda Sheffer – Plattsburgh State
Clara Goncalves – Bridgewater State
Alexandra Mack - Elms