NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team dropped a pair of State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) matches during pool play action on Saturday at SUNY New Paltz's Hawk Center, falling, 3-1, to SUNY Geneseo (25-21, 20-25, 25-8, 25-23) before dropping a 3-1 (27-29, 25-21, 25-22, 25-18) decision to host New Paltz.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 10-13 overall (1-5 SUNYAC) with the losses and next hosts NCAA Division II Saint Michael's College on Thursday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. at Memorial Hall. Geneseo moves to 11-10 overall (3-3 SUNYAC) with its results on the day, while New Paltz moves to 12-9 overall (5-1 SUNYAC).
 
Geneseo 3, Plattsburgh State 1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-8, 25-23)
 
Geneseo hit at a .219 clip in the first match of the day while limiting Plattsburgh State to .094 hitting. The Knights also held the upper hand in service aces (9-7) and total team blocks (6-4).
 
Freshman outside hitter/right side Hunter Grotjohn (Scottsdale, Ariz./Horizon) keyed the Cardinal attack against the Knights, landing 15 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Sam Colombo (Patchogue, N.Y./Bellport) posted a double-double with 13 kills and 17 digs. Sophomore setter Sydney Gabriel (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) kept the offense moving with 35 assists, while freshman defensive specialist Bryanne Yasui (Honolulu, Hawaii/Moanalua) paced the back row defensively with 21 digs.
 
For Geneseo, three different student-athletes reached double figures in kills, led by freshman outside hitter Grace Cergol's 13. Senior right side Emma Lannon hit at an efficient rate, fashioning a .462 hitting percentage off 12 kills and no errors in 26 total attempts, while sophomore setter Emily Ast dished out 45 assists. Defensively, freshman defensive specialist/libero Sam Mendelsohn led the way with 22 digs.
 
New Paltz 3, Plattsburgh State 1 (27-29, 25-21, 25-22, 25-18)
 
The Cardinals took the first set against the Hawks on their home floor, but New Paltz battled back to win the final three sets to post a 3-1 victory.
 
Plattsburgh State did manage to produce an improved hitting performance in the nightcap, hitting at a .147 clip, but the Hawks did enough offensively with a .215 hitting percentage to come away with the win. Both teams excelled at the service line with 10 aces apiece, while New Paltz held a 9-5 margin in total team blocks.
 
Senior outside hitter Anna Paulik and senior middle hitter Morgan Roessler posted three kills apiece in a 6-0 run for the Hawks early in the first set, staking New Paltz to a 10-4 advantage. Plattsburgh State clawed back, though, and a modest 3-0 run that was capped off by a Colombo kill drew the Cardinals within one. New Paltz extended the lead out to six (22-16) before Plattsburgh State chipped away, and six unanswered Cardinal points knotted the score at 24-all. Senior middle hitter Chantal Ramhorst brought the serve back to the Hawks with a kill, but a New Paltz service error and a Colombo service ace put Plattsburgh State in the driver's seat. After the two teams traded points, the Cardinals benefited from a Hawk ball-handling error to give them the 29-27 victory in the first.
 
New Paltz opened up a 13-4 lead early in the second, and that deficit proved too large to overcome for Plattsburgh State, though the Cardinals did score three consecutive points on three occasions down the stretch. The Hawks claimed the second set, 25-21.
 
While the Hawks built an early advantage in the third, the Plattsburgh State defense helped stave off set point three times, the last of which prompted a New Paltz timeout. On the next rally, however, Paulik gave the Hawks the 25-22 set victory with a kill.
 
Plattsburgh State got out to a hot start in the fourth, with a kill by senior outside hitter/right side Lexi Pascal (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) and a Yasui service ace giving the Cardinals a 4-1 cushion. New Paltz countered, however, with five straight points to take the lead, one it would not relinquish in a 25-18 match-clinching victory in the fourth.
 
Grotjohn (16 kills, 16 digs) and Colombo (13 kills, 21 digs) each posted double-doubles for Plattsburgh State, while Gabriel doled out 40 assists. Yasui defended a season-high 33 digs to lead the back row, while Colombo and Yasui each floored four aces.
 
For New Paltz, Roessler impacted the match both offensively and defensively with 21 kills and eight total blocks (two solo, six assist), while Paulik posted a double-double with 14 kills and 26 digs. Junior setter Maddie Zwickl registered a double-double, too, with 51 assists and 11 digs.