SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Junior middle blocker Michelle Simmons (Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) hit .538 on seven kills and no errors in 13 total attempts while posting five block assists, but the Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team fell, 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-18), to Williams College Friday evening at Union College's Viniar Athletic Center to open up the Union Invitational.
 
Williams hit .319 as a team, flooring 42 kills and committing just 12 attacking errors in 94 total attempts. The Cardinals held a 6-3 edge in blocks, while the Ephs finished with the upper hand in service aces (13-3) and digs (56-33).
 
Plattsburgh State slips to 4-5 overall with the loss and closes out the Union Invitational tomorrow with matches against Skidmore College (10 a.m.) and host Union (2 p.m.). Williams rises to 5-1 overall with the win and squares off with Union tonight at 7:30 p.m.
 
Williams jumped out to a 17-8 lead until the Cardinals went on a 5-3 run to pull within six at 20-14. Simmons capped off the spurt with a kill on an assist from senior setter/opposite Brianna Coon (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh). The Ephs scored five of the next seven points to capture a 25-16 set one victory.
 
While Plattsburgh State claimed an early 4-3 lead following an Eph service error, Williams scored nine straight points to break open a 12-4 advantage. That wound up being the cushion the Ephs needed to cruise to a 25-9 triumph in the set.
 
Both teams battled back and forth in the third, and the Cardinals claimed a 7-6 advantage after a Williams attacking error and an 8-7 edge following a kill by junior outside hitter Rachel Mennonna (Selden, N.Y./Newfield). The Ephs scored seven of the next eight points and wound up taking a 17-10 lead, but the Cardinals countered with a 5-0 surge. Simmons and sophomore outside hitter/opposite Kaitlyn Bjelko (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown) combined for a block assist to draw the Cardinals within two at 17-15. Plattsburgh State was unable to score consecutive points from that point forward, and Williams finished off the match with a 25-18 win in the third.
 
Beyond Simmons, Hyde contributed to the Cardinals' cause with six kills and 10 digs, while Bjelko posted a career-high four block assists.
 
For Williams, sophomore outside hitter Lydia Kurtz led a balanced attack with eight kills, while freshman setter Gracie Guidotti and senior setter Alex Newton combined for 30 assists. Defensively, Kurtz, Guidotti and senior libero Daiana Takashima recorded 14, 12 and 11 digs, respectively, while Takashima, Kurtz and junior defensive specialist Allison Frison each landed three service aces.