PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team fell to SUNY Potsdam, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-22), in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener for both teams Tuesday evening at Memorial Hall.
 
Potsdam ended up hitting .159 (43-22-132) for the match and held the upper hand in digs (66-60), service aces (6-2) and blocks (6-5). The Cardinals hit .105 in all three sets.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 4-8 overall (0-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and next competes at the Canton Tri-Match on Saturday, Sept. 21, facing Elmira College at 1 p.m. and host SUNY Canton at 3 p.m. Potsdam rises to 4-6 overall (1-0 SUNYAC) with the win and opens up competition at Alfred University's Saxon Classic on Friday, Sept. 20, with matches against Lebanon Valley College (6 p.m.) and Grove City College (8 p.m.).
 
The two teams traded points and runs in the early going of the first set, and a kill by junior outside hitter Rachel Mennonna (Selden, N.Y./Newfield) drew the Cardinals within a point of the Bears at 12-11. The Bears then scored four consecutive points to open up a 16-11 lead, but sophomore outside hitter/opposite Kaitlyn Bjelko (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown), senior outside hitter Megan Hyde (Schenectady, N.Y./Schalmont) and sophomore middle blocker Ann Beauchamp (Potsdam, N.Y./Potsdam) all landed kills to pull the Cardinals back within two at 17-15. The two teams sided each other out before a Potsdam attacking error made it a one-point score at 18-17. Potsdam never led by fewer than two points from that point forward and took the first set, 25-21.
 
Plattsburgh State hopped out to a 6-0 lead early in the second set, and during that stretch, Hyde had two kills. Potsdam then went on a 12-2 run, with a Cardinal attacking error giving the Bears a 12-8 advantage. While the Cardinals ultimately pulled within two at 17-15 following a kill by Hyde and a Potsdam attacking miscue, the Bears surged back ahead to win the second set, 25-20.
 
The Bears opened up a 9-3 lead to start out the third set, but the Cardinals battled back, with Mennonna contributing two kills and a block assist to a four-point run to draw Plattsburgh State within one at 17-16. Potsdam broke open a 24-18 lead, and with match point on the line, Plattsburgh State received a kill by junior middle blocker Michelle Simmons (Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly), a block assist by Simmons and Hyde, a Potsdam setting error and a Bear attacking error to draw within two at 24-22. Junior outside hitter Nicole Hansen then landed the match-clinching kill for Potsdam to give the Bears a 25-22 triumph in the third.
 
Hyde led the Plattsburgh State attack with nine kills and 10 digs, while Mennonna had seven kills and 15 digs. Simmons hit .438 for the match with seven kills and no errors in 16 total attempts. Beauchamp reinforced the front row defensively with three block assists.
 
For Potsdam, freshman outside hitter Jessica Ader posted 11 kills and defended 10 digs to complete the double-double, while freshman setter/opposite Kendall Jones dished out 38 assists. Defensively, senior libero Natalie Magallon recorded 22 digs, while junior middle hitter Monica Mack and Jones registered three total blocks each.