CANTON, N.Y. – Following a decisive home victory to ring in its 2015 campaign, the Plattsburgh State volleyball squad (1-2) found itself unable to replicate its success on the road as the Cardinals dropped a pair of 3-0 decisions to SUNY Canton (3-0) and Plymouth State (1-0) on the first day of the SUNY Canton Invitational.

MATCH ONE: SUNY Canton 3, Plattsburgh State 0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-22)
Efficient swings by the host Kangaroos – who hit at a clip of .276 through the course of the three-set bout – proved to be one of the difference makers in the first setback of the season for the Cardinals.

Freshman Sam Colombo floored a match-best nine kills, but the Cardinals' attack took a little time to get warmed up. During the first game, Plattsburgh State converted on just .088 percent of its swings and try as its defense might, slowing down the Kangaroos was a difficult task as the hosts registered an attack percentage of .343.

The middle frame saw Plattsburgh State put up some better numbers – namely an attack percentage of .194 – but the Cardinals found themselves facing a 2-0 deficit after SUNY Canton outscored Plattsburgh by a 25-17 margin.

Things evened up substantially in the final frame as the Cardinals stood toe-to-toe with their North Country rivals through the early stages. Tied at 22-all, SUNY Canton registered the final three points of the set to secure the triumph.

Rounding out the top three kill producers for Plattsburgh State were freshman Izzy Ruff and senior Emily Miller who hammered down six and five terminations respectively. Freshman Sydney Gabriel totaled 23 assists while Jordynne Ales paced the team with nine digs.

The service game was strong for the Kangaroos, as they notched nine aces – five of which came off the mitts of Morgan Bills who also tallied eight kills.

MATCH TWO: Plymouth State 3, Plattsburgh State 0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-18)
A match-best six service aces from Ales weren't enough to offset another difficult outing in the attacking department as the Cardinals hit just .082 in a second straight-set defeat.

Colombo corralled team-high honors in kills again, amassing seven, but Claire Sporer blasted down a match-high 14 terminations for the Panthers who also received a 35-dig performance from Brenna Peruch.

The Cardinals benefitted from a pair of commendable front-row performances by Noelle Miller and Melissa Wickers who totaled two block assists each. Additionally, Wickers owned a team-high .333 attack percentage and slammed down four kills to go along with one dig.
 
Plattsburgh State will make a run for its second and third wins of the season on Saturday morning. The Cardinals are slated to take on Paul Smith's at 10 a.m. before engaging in a battle with SUNYAC rival SUNY Potsdam at noon.