NORTON, Mass. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team split a pair of five-set matches on the second and final day of the Wheaton College Invitational on Saturday, defeating the Maine Maritime Academy, 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 27-29, 25-22, 15-5), before falling to host Wheaton (Mass.) College, 3-2 (14-25, 26-28, 27-25, 25-23, 15-8).
 
For her efforts throughout the course of the weekend, sophomore outside hitter Sam Colombo (Patchogue, N.Y./Bellport) was named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Plattsburgh State moves to 4-5 overall with the results and next hosts the Best Western Plus-Ground Round Cardinal Classic from Friday-Saturday, Sept. 16-17, at Memorial Hall. Maine Maritime moves to 3-2 and next hosts Husson University in its home opener on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. Wheaton rises to 6-3 and next visits Gordon College on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m.
 
Plattsburgh State 3, Maine Maritime 2 (21-25, 25-22, 27-29, 25-22, 15-5)
 
The Cardinals were tested in the first match of the day and overcame a sluggish start to come away with the win. Plattsburgh State hit .124 for the match, which included a lights-out .538 clip in the fifth set. Both teams landed 11 aces, while Maine Maritime finished with an 8-4 advantage in total team blocks.
 
The Mariners made a statement early in the first set, building a 9-1 lead they would not relinquish during the stanza. Plattsburgh State hit -.024 in the first, while Maine Maritime assembled a .150 hitting percentage in the opening frame.
 
Plattsburgh State countered Maine Maritime's opening salvo with strong play late in the second, as the Cardinals reversed a 21-18 Mariner lead that came off a 5-1 run, scoring the final five points of the set. During Plattsburgh State's tear to close the second, Colombo floored two aces, while freshman outside hitter/right side Hunter Grotjohn (Scottsdale, Ariz./Horizon) landed a pair of kills.
 
In the third set, both teams traded points and runs before Plattsburgh State brought up set point following two Mariner attacking errors. Maine Maritime tied the score at 24-all before a Mariner ball-handling error brought up set point yet again at 25-24. Maine Maritime tipped the scales in the other direction after back-to-back kills, but another Mariner ball-handling error knotted the tally at 26-all. After the two teams traded points, Maine Maritime received a kill and a block to win the set.
 
Plattsburgh State dominated the early stages of the fourth set, leading by as many as nine (15-6). Maine Maritime came all the way back, though, with a five-point spurt tying the score at 20-all. Grotjohn and Colombo each registered kills to give the Cardinals a 22-20 advantage, and following a Mariner point, Colombo found the floor in bounds yet again to hand Plattsburgh State a 23-21 edge. After Maine Maritime drew within one off of a kill, the Cardinals forced a fifth set with kills by Colombo and sophomore setter Sydney Gabriel (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side).
 
The deciding frame wound up not having the drama witnessed in the first four sets, with Plattsburgh State scoring early to construct an 8-3 lead at the switch. After the Mariners sided out the Cardinals, Plattsburgh State brought up match point after winning six straight rallies. Maine Maritime received the serve back after a ball-handling error, but freshman middle hitter Dani Borunda (Salt Lake City, Utah/West) punctuated the match with a kill to give the Cardinals the win.
 
Grotjohn enjoyed the best match of her young career, hitting .273 (17-5-44) while adding 17 digs for the double-double. Colombo also stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with a double-double (16 kills, 19 digs) and six service aces. Gabriel quarterbacked the offense to the tune of 40 assists, while freshman defensive specialist Bryanne Yasui (Honolulu, Hawaii/Moanalua) defended 30 digs.
 
For Maine Maritime, senior outside hitter Gillian O'Neal and sophomore middle hitter Tess Clark collected 20 and 19 kills, respectively, while sophomore setter Melissa Spaulding and freshman setter/right side Sydney Adams combined for 49 assists running a 6-2 offense. Clark registered 19 digs to complete the double-double, while freshman libero Maria Perez picked up a match-high 30 digs.
 
Wheaton (Mass.) 3, Plattsburgh State 2 (14-25, 26-28, 27-25, 25-23, 15-8)
 
Plattsburgh State nearly completed a 4-0 weekend, but Wheaton engineered a comeback in the fourth and fifth sets to come away with the win.
 
The Cardinals posted a .141 hitting percentage for the match while limiting the Lyons to .079 hitting, but the difference in the contest came from the service line. Wheaton served up 15 aces to Plattsburgh State's eight, and the Lyons also held the upper hand in blocks (10-5).
 
A Plattsburgh State offense firing on all cylinders defined the first set, as the Cardinals hit .364. Nine unanswered Cardinal points midway through the stanza helped Plattsburgh State win the first set with ease.
 
The momentum swung back and forth in the second, and following a Plattsburgh State timeout at 26-25 in favor of Wheaton, the Cardinals scored three straight points to end the set. Colombo tied the score with a kill, and following an attacking error by Wheaton, Gabriel and freshman middle hitter Tatyana Barlow (Palmdale, Calif./Pete Knight) combined for a block assist to claim the set for Plattsburgh State.

After a fast start by Wheaton and a comeback by Plattsburgh State in the third, the two teams battled back and forth, which set up a dramatic end to the set. Wheaton brought up set point at 25-24, and after a Lyon service error tied the score, Wheaton received back-to-back kills to close out the frame.

Plattsburgh State relied on Wheaton miscues and strong hitting early in the fourth to rack up leads of 14-5 and 18-11. The Lyons stormed back, though, tying the score with an 8-1 run and gaining the lead following a kill and three Cardinal attacking errors. Plattsburgh State leveled the tally with kills by Barlow and Colombo, but Wheaton forced a deciding set with back-to-back kills to end the fourth.
 
The Cardinals scored the first four points of the fifth set, but Wheaton ended up going on a 9-0 run to swing the momentum squarely in its favor. The Lyons hung on to win the fifth, 15-8.
 
Colombo (19 kills, 20 digs), Grotjohn (13 kills, 19 digs) and Gabriel (38 assists, 16 digs) posted double-doubles, while Yasui and junior defensive specialist Jordynne Ales (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown) registered 31 and 12 digs, respectively. Yasui's 31-dig performance served as a season-high.
 
For Wheaton, sophomore middle hitter Claire Cansler and sophomore outside hitter Cathryn MacGregor tallied 13 and 12 kills, respectively, while freshman setter Becca Houghton dished out 29 assists. Junior libero Stephanie Martin paced the defense with 30 digs, while freshman defensive specialist Sadie Stewart landed five service aces.