NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team dropped its first match of the weekend at a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Pool Play hosted by SUNY New Paltz at the Hawk Center Friday evening, as the Cardinals fell, 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-17), to North Country rival SUNY Potsdam.
 
Potsdam hit .239 for the match, totaling 40 kills against 14 errors in 109 total attempts. The Bears also held the upper hand in service aces (7-5) and digs (50-46), but the Cardinals finished with a 3-0 margin in total blocks.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 6-13 overall (1-3 SUNYAC) with the loss and next faces SUNY Oneonta (2:30 p.m.) and Oswego State (5 p.m.) tomorrow. Potsdam rises to 8-10 overall (2-2 SUNYAC) with the win and next takes on Fredonia (2:30 p.m.) and host New Paltz (5 p.m.) tomorrow.
 
After the two teams battled back and forth early in the first set, Potsdam took a 10-8 lead on the strength of three straight points. The Cardinals knotted the score at 10-all after a Bear attacking error and a kill by junior outside hitter Brianna Coon (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh), but Potsdam scored seven of the next nine points to build a commanding lead it would hold throughout the remainder of the first.
 
The Cardinals dictated the tempo of the second set early on, and a 5-0 surge staked Plattsburgh State to an 11-5 lead. A four-point tear capped off by a kill by sophomore middle blocker Michelle Simmons (Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) handed the Cardinals a 15-6 advantage, but Potsdam came all the way back, drawing within one following a seven-point spurt. Plattsburgh State extended its lead to 23-20 following a Bear attacking error, but Potsdam scored the set's final five points to escape with a 25-23 win in the second.
 
Potsdam jumped out to a 6-1 advantage in the third and was never threatened the rest of the frame, winning the set, 25-17. The Bears hit an efficient .346 in the third set, needing just 26 swings to land 12 kills. Potsdam committed just three hitting errors in the set.
 
Simmons, the SUNYAC leader in hitting percentage, padded her season total with a .429 mark for the match that included eight kills and two errors in 14 total attempts. Freshman setter/opposite Lauren DeVoe (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) handed out 25 assists and completed the double-double with 10 digs, while sophomore defensive specialist Maddy Zophy (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) posted a team-high 15 digs.
 
For Potsdam, sophomore middle hitter Monica Mack floored 11 kills and hit .600, while senior setter Brianna Rodda distributed 34 assists. Junior libero Natalie Magallon reinforced the back row defensively with a match-high 25 digs.