PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Making sure their 2015 home record remained untarnished in the early stages of the season, Plattsburgh State employed a 15-1 advantage in service aces as well as a team attack percentage of .386 to dispatch Elms College 3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-10) in the opening match of the 20115 Best Western-Ground Round Cardinal Classic in Memorial Hall on Friday night.

The final box score displayed all the signs of a total team effort for the home squad as 10 players recorded at least one kill to help the Cardinals improve to 4-2. Plattsburgh State's defense held strong and limited the Blazers (1-4) to a hitting percentage of just .065 in the one-sided affair.

Sophomore Melissa Wickers laid claim to match-high honors in the termination department, hammering down eight kills and adding a trio of block assists as well as a pair of digs. Perfection was synonymous with senior Emily Miller, who hit 1.000 for the match by amassing five kills on five swings.

Continuing her torrid start as a collegian, Sam Colombo notched seven kills, five service aces and six digs in arguably the best-rounded performance of the evening for Plattsburgh State. Jordynne Ales also accumulated five aces and took home match-high honors with eight digs.

Taking a brief respite from setting up the offense, freshman Sydney Gabriel opened the scoring with a kill which set off a 5-1 Plattsburgh State surge in the opening stages of the non-conference matchup. Elms managed to knot the score just one in the first frame but continued to stay within shouting distance before the Cardinals pulled away in the middle portion of the set.

The owners of an 8-5 edge, Plattsburgh State commenced a 7-2 run with a kill from Emily Miller. Terminations from Colombo and Gabriel also highlighted that spurt which allowed the Cardinals to go up 15-7. A combo block from Noelle Miller and Wickers followed by an Ales ace pushed the Plattsburgh State advantage to double-digits (20-10) for the first time.

A 5-3 set-ending surge which culminated in back-to-back kills by Colombo and Emily Miller put the Cardinals on top 1-0.

Elms was eager to seize control of the middle frame and did so by way of a 3-0 start. The Cardinals' response, however, was to unleash a 10-1 run on the Blazers. Noelle Miller floored a pair of kills during the stretch while Ales and Colombo each added a service aces.

Plattsburgh State was seemingly able to hammer down kills with will as the squad hit an impressive .700 in the middle frame. On just 20 swings, the Cardinals recorded 14 kills and of those 14 Colombo submitted a team-high four.

Much like what transpired in the second set, the Blazers took control by notching three of the first five points in the deciding frame. From there, though, Izzy Ruff put down a pair of kills and Ales followed with consecutive aces as part of a 5-0 run which gave the Cardinals the lead for good.

The Blazers were able to keep things close, pulling to within 11-8 after Rachel Magnuson notched a kill, but the Cardinals got the crowd roaring with an 11-1 run which was catalyzed by a kill from Lauren LaDuke. Up 22-9, the Cardinals finished off the Blazers by recording three of the last four points.

Gabriel passed out a match-high 24 assists and added three kills and a pair of digs to the Cardinals' cause, too. Danielle Redding floored a team-high six kills for the Blazers.

Two more home confrontations await the Cardinals on Saturday – the final day of the Classic. On the docket first is an 11 a.m. bout with Lasell and following the Cardinals/Lasers tussle is a 1:30 p.m. meeting with SUNY Poly.