CANTON, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team moved back to the .500 mark on Tuesday evening at the Roos House, defeating SUNY Canton, 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-20), in a non-conference match.
 
After hitting just .182 in the opening frame, the Cardinals bounced back by hitting at clips of .300 and .364 in the second and third sets, respectively, to finish with a hitting percentage of .281 for the match. Plattsburgh State floored eight aces to Canton's three, and the Cardinals held a 4-2 margin in blocks.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 10-10 overall with the win and faces a tough test next on Friday, Oct. 7, at SUNY New Paltz's Hawk Center when it takes on the defending State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) champion, The College at Brockport, at 5 p.m. in a conference match. Canton drops to 11-10 with the loss and next faces Susquehanna University (12 p.m.) and Messiah College (2 p.m.) in a tri-match at Susquehanna on Saturday, Oct. 8.
 
A back-and-forth battle ensued early in the first set until Plattsburgh State scored four straight points, and a kill by sophomore outside hitter Sam Colombo (Patchogue, N.Y./Bellport) gave the Cardinals a 15-12 edge. The Roos battled back, though, tying the score at 17-all and 18-all before taking the lead at 19-18. The Cardinals regained the lead and eventually brought up set point at 24-22, but Canton won two straight rallies to knot the tally at 24-all. Freshman outside hitter/right side Hunter Grotjohn (Scottsdale, Ariz./Horizon) floored a kill and sophomore setter Sydney Gabriel (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) landed a service ace to give the Cardinals a 26-24 win in set one.
 
Plattsburgh State dictated the momentum early in the second set and led by as many as six points, but Canton chipped away at the advantage slowly and pulled within two at 19-17. The Cardinals extended the lead back out to 21-17, but three straight Roo points made it a one-point score at 21-20. A ball-handling error and a kill by sophomore middle hitter Shelby Bourgeois (Keeseville, N.Y./AuSable Valley) pushed the Cardinal cushion back out to three at 23-20, but back-to-back Canton kill once again drew the home team within one. Senior outside hitter/right side Lexi Pascal (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) scored the final two points of the set off of kills to hand Plattsburgh State a 25-22 victory in set two.
 
After the two teams traded points early in the third, Canton went on a 7-1 tear to open up a 12-9 lead and force a Plattsburgh State timeout. The Cardinals then scored five straight points to regain the advantage, and after Canton tied the score at 14-all, Plattsburgh State won three straight rallies to take a lead it would not relinquish. Pascal provided the final point of the match, as she floored a kill to give the Cardinals a match-clinching 25-20 victory in the third.
 
Pascal enjoyed arguably the best match of her Plattsburgh State career by hitting .550 off 12 kills and one error in 20 total attempts. Gabriel handed out 33 assists, while freshman defensive specialist Bryanne Yasui (Honolulu, Hawaii/Moanalua), Colombo and Grotjohn all finished with 10 digs. Freshman middle hitter Dani Borunda (Salt Lake City, Utah/West) reinforced the front row defensively with three total blocks (two solo, one assist).
 
For Canton, senior outside hitter/middle blocker Haley Riley and senior outside hitter Kelsy Cornish tallied 13 and 11 kills, respectively, while sophomore setter Peyton Robinson doled out 34 assists. Freshman libero Jenna Roat paced the Roos' defensive efforts with 20 digs.