SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team split a pair of matches at the Skidmore Classic on Saturday at Skidmore College's Williamson Sports Center, falling to St. John Fisher College, 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 26-24), before topping the College of New Rochelle, 3-1 (25-16, 25-14, 24-26, 25-11).
For her efforts during the event, sophomore middle blocker
Michelle Simmons (Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Plattsburgh State rises to 6-12 overall with the results and next visits SUNY New Paltz for the second State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Pool Play from Friday-Saturday, Oct. 5-6. The Cardinals open up the weekend with a match against North Country rival SUNY Potsdam on Friday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m. St. John Fisher rises to 10-9 overall with the win, while New Rochelle falls to 3-14 with the loss.
St. John Fisher 3, Plattsburgh State 0 (25-17, 25-20, 26-24)
St. John Fisher prevailed in a battle of the Cardinals in the first match of the day, hitting .209 while outgaining Plattsburgh State in service aces (11-4) and digs (52-51). Plattsburgh State did, however, finish with a 4-3 cushion in blocks.
After St. John Fisher won the first two sets comfortably, Plattsburgh State nearly came out on top in the third. Junior outside hitter
Brianna Coon (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh) and Simmons combined for a block assist to cap off a 6-1 run late in the third, handing Plattsburgh State a 21-19 advantage. St. John Fisher battled back and took a 24-23 lead, but a kill by freshman middle blocker/opposite
Tara McGovern (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North) staved off match point. The Pittsford, N.Y.-based Cardinals, however, scored each of the final two points of the set to claim the match.
Simmons paced Plattsburgh State with eight kills and a .304 hitting percentage, while freshman setter/opposite
Lauren DeVoe (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) handed out 14 assists. Sophomore defensive specialist
Maddy Zophy (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) paced the back row defensively with 14 digs, while Simmons registered three block assists.
For St. John Fisher, freshman outside hitter Alea Steigerwald and junior outside hitter/opposite Izzy Smith tallied 17 and 13 kills, respectively, while sophomore setter Rebecca Hay distributed 27 assists and collected 11 digs to complete the double-double. Senior libero Elise Kreuz provided the match-high in digs with 18.
Plattsburgh State 3, New Rochelle 1 (25-16, 25-14, 24-26, 25-11)
The Cardinals hit .252 against New Rochelle in the nightcap while limiting the Blue Angels to .126 hitting. Plattsburgh State won the battle at the service line with a 12-6 margin in aces, and the Cardinals finished with a 10-1 edge in blocks. New Rochelle, however, won the dig battle (60-55).
Plattsburgh State built a 15-9 lead in the first set thanks to a 6-0 run that included a pair of service aces by McGovern, and while New Rochelle eventually drew within three at 19-16, Plattsburgh State finished the set on a 6-0 surge. Freshman defensive specialist
Elora Sherman's (Huntington Station, N.Y./Harborfields) serve accounted for three of those final six points.
While New Rochelle battled Plattsburgh State early in the second, the Cardinals fired off an 8-1 run midway through the set to take a commanding 17-10 advantage. McGovern played a prominent role in that spurt, posting two kills and two service aces. The Blue Angels were never able to recover, and a service ace by sophomore defensive specialist
Abby Bone (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown) capped off a 25-14 set win for the Cardinals.
New Rochelle forced a fourth set based on .211 hitting in the third. The Blue Angels took a 22-20 lead, but Plattsburgh State tied the score at 22-all with kills from McGovern and junior outside hitter
Megan Hyde (Schenectady, N.Y./Schalmont). The two teams traded points until a pair of attack errors gave the Blue Angels a 26-24 triumph in the set.
The Cardinals scored the first three points in the fourth and never trailed, winning the set by a 25-11 score. Plattsburgh State scored consecutive points seven times during the stanza, and Simmons accounted for 10 of the Cardinals' 25 points with six kills and four blocks.
Simmons retained her spot as the SUNYAC leader in hitting percentage at .355, as she hit at a .393 clip against New Rochelle with 14 kills and three errors in 28 total attempts. Simmons also recorded a career-high nine total blocks (three solo, six assist). DeVoe picked up a double-double with 32 assists and 10 digs, while McGovern and Sherman served up five and four aces, respectively. McGovern's total marked a career-high for the freshman from Holbrook, N.Y. Zophy provided solid back-row defense with 21 digs for the contest.
For New Rochelle, junior outside hitter Imani DeBose landed 10 kills, while senior defensive specialist Stephanie Garcia defended a match-high 23 digs. Freshman setters Sierra Plum and Milinett De Hostos Gonzalez handed out 17 and 16 assists, respectively, while freshman outside hitter/defensive specialist Militza De Hostos Gonzalez served three aces.
