Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – For the second-straight season, the Plattsburgh State volleyball team was in a position to take home the title of Best Western-Ground Round Cardinal Classic champion, but the squad couldn't slow down a hard-hitting SUNY Poly (4-2) squad in the second match of the day for both teams. The Cardinals, who are now 5-3, raced past Lasell (1-9) in straight sets in their first match of the day.

MATCH ONE: Plattsburgh State 3, Lasell 0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-17)
Although their offense wasn't nearly as sharp as it was on Friday evening, the Cardinals eased by Lasell in straight sets to set up a date with SUNY Poly for the title of 2015 Best Western-Ground Round Cardinal Classic champion.

Swinging at a clip of .353, sophomore Noelle Miller put down a match-high seven kills to lead the way for the hosts. Freshman Sam Colombo put in an effort which consisted of six kills, two service aces, a pair of solo blocks and a team-best 12 digs.
Second-year player Melissa Wickers also struck for six terminations in the victory while Sydney Gabriel collected four of the Cardinals' nine service aces as well as a match-high 24 assists.

The Lasers laid claim to the first two points of the match, but a termination from Noelle Miller started off an 8-1 run for the Cardinals. From that point on, the home squad would never find themselves trailing for the rest of the frame.

Wickers sprung for back-to-back kills in Plattsburgh State's opening salvo and the final two points came by way of Lasell attack errors. Odana Ellis pulled the Lasers to within four, 11-7, with a hard right-handed termination, but a 5-0 spurt which concluded with a service ace off the hand of Evelyn Vicencio pushed the Cardinals' edge to 16-7.

 Lasell never closed to within fewer than five points for the remainder of the set as the Cardinals opened up a 1-0 lead. The second set, though, featured a total of seven deadlocks and Plattsburgh State had to battle back and stave off three set points to keep their hopes for another straight-set victory alive.

With Lasell holding a lead of as many as five points (15-10), Plattsburgh State found itself facing a 24-21 deficit after consecutive service aces from Ellis. The Cardinals' hopes began to brighten after a pair of errors by the Lasers, and Noelle Miller managed to make it 24-all with a hard kill from the middle of the net. Vicencio added another service ace before one final miscue by the Lasers ended the Cardinals' set-clinching 5-0 surge.

The pace of the deciding set was back-and-forth in the early stages as Lasell knotted things at eight points apiece by way of a Cardinal attack error. All the momentum swung in favor of the hosts, though, when Gabriel floated down a touch-kill, instigating a 7-0 Plattsburgh State run.

Plattsburgh State hit .118 in the deciding set and .066 for the match while holding the Lasers to an attack percentage of .030. Heather Longley put down a team-best six kills and added a solo block and three block assists to lead the way for the Lasers.

MATCH TWO: SUNY Poly 3, Plattsburgh State 0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-20)
The lead in the first two sets belonged to the Cardinals early on, but the SUNY Poly outside hitting triumvirate of Morgan Eberley, Megan Will and Emma Larson proved to be too much for the home team in Plattsburgh State's first home setback of 2015.

As a team, the Wildcats hammered down kills at a clip of .231 and were led by Eberley's 12. Eberley was named the MVP of the tournament while Larson, who totaled six more terminations, also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

Noelle Miller and Wickers teamed up for a block before the former registered a kill to give the Cardinals a 2-0 edge, but SUNY Poly responded with a 5-0 run to take the lead for good in the first set. The Wildcats upped their lead to as many as 10 points before all was said and done.

The squads fought tooth and nail to gain an advantage in the middle frame, but once again it was the Wildcats who got the upper hand. Following a kill from Colombo to tie things at 10, SUNY Poly unleashed an 8-2 run which featured back-to-back service aces from Shelby Kostal.

Even though the Cardinals trimmed their deficit to four, the Wildcats put the home squad in a 2-0 hole by finishing off the set with a pair of Will kills.

Plattsburgh State fell victim to a 6-1 spurt by the Wildcats in the infancy of the final frame and was never able to fully recover. The home team never led in the set, and even though it was able to pull within two, 15-13, following a kill from Izzy Ruff, SUNY Poly had the answer every time.

Ruff, who hails from Garner, N.C., notched a team-high eight kills to go along with four digs and a service ace. Gabriel totaled a match-high 10 digs and rounded out her double-double effort with 22 assists.

Next up for the Cardinals is a mid-week, non-conference meeting at St. Michael's College. First serve in Colchester, Vt., is scheduled for 7 p.m.

2015 Best Western-Ground Round Cardinal Classic Standings 
1. SUNY Poly (3-0)
2. Plattsburgh State (2-1)
3. Lasell (1-2)
4. Elms (0-3)
 
2015 Best Western-Ground Round Cardinal Classic All-tournament Team
SUNY Poly - Morgan Eberley (MVP)
SUNY Poly - Emma Larson
Plattsburgh - Sydney Gabriel
Plattsburgh - Noelle Miller
Lasell - Heather Longley
Elms - Danielle Redding