Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – A slow night on the offensive end of the court for the Plattsburgh State volleyball team led to a 3-0 (25-8, 25-18, 25-23) defeat for the Cardinals at the hands of St. Michael's in Memorial Hall on Tuesday night.
The Cardinals slip to 4-6 with the loss while the Purple Knights improve to 5-3 as a result of the non-conference win.
There weren't an abundance of factors operating in the Cardinals' favor through the course of the opening set. Candace Washington put down two kills and added a block assist to lead the Purple Knights out of the gates on a 6-1 run to begin the match.
Trailing by as many as six points in the early stages of the frame, Plattsburgh State crept back into things on the strength of a 4-1 spurt which featured a pair of terminations by junior Emily Miller. Thanks to Miler's hand, the Cardinals found themselves trailing by just three – 7-10 – but that's when things took a turn for the worse.
Plattsburgh State went on to add just one more point through the lopsided opening set. Compounding the Cardinals' woes were the seven attack errors the home squad amassed during the 15-1 run St. Michael's employed to close out the frame. The Cardinals hit -.229 in the set, gathering just four kills on 35 attempts and totaling 12 errors.
Looking to put their misfortunes behind them in the middle set, Plattsburgh State took its first lead of the bout when Melissa Wickers smashed down a kill which made matters 4-3 in favor of the home team. Regrettably, that was the only lead Plattsburgh State would own in the frame but the Cardinals had many more positives to speak of in the second set.
Three consecutive miscues by the Purple Knights allowed the Cardinals to even things up at 10 points each, but the visitors embarked on an 8-2 surge to earn a six-point cushion.
A service ace from freshman Evelyn Vicencio helped Plattsburgh State to close within three points – 20-17 – but St. Michael's closed out the set on a 5-1 run which featured another pair of kills from Washington and another off the mitts of Kelsey Flaherty.
The Cardinals put together their most well-rounded set of the confrontation in the closing frame. A St. Michael's attack error followed up with a service ace from senior Meghan Clifford helped Plattsburgh State leap out to a 2-0 lead.
It proved to be an advantage the Cardinals would maintain until a 5-0 surge by the visitors put them ahead for the rest of the match. Even though St. Michael's reeled off five consecutive point to grab a 10-7 lead, the Cardinals kept challenging their Vermont foes until the bitter end.
Staring an 18-12 deficit squarely in the face, Plattsburgh State used a termination from senior Maggie Schrantz and another pair of Purple Knight attack errors to close the gap to three points. The visitors, though, were able to regain their sizable lead and a Cardinal service error made the score 24-19 in favor of the Purple Knights.
Plattsburgh State nearly forced a fourth set, using a pair of kills from Schrantz, a combo block from Schrantz and Emily Miller as well as a service ace from Noelle Miller to get within 24-23, but a service error ended the Cardinals' comeback chances.
Plattsburgh State hit .026 during the match and was led by a team-best eight kills from Schrantz. Emily Miller and Sheffer added six terminations each while Jackie Mariotti chipped in a team-high 16 digs.
Washington hammered down 13 kills on 19 swings and added three block assists as well as a solo rejection to pace the Purple Knights. St. Michael's hit .183 during the three-set match and received a 7-dig performance from Natalie Moore and 31 assists from Catie Weller.
