PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Sophomore defensive specialist/outside hitter
Payton Zophy (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) recorded an 11-kill, 16-dig double-double, but the Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team fell, 3-1 (25-15, 25-18, 6-25, 25-23), to visiting St. Lawrence University on Thursday evening in non-conference action at Memorial Hall in its annual Dig Pink Match.
Beyond Zophy, senior opposite
Kaitlyn Bjelko (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown) notched nine kills against four errors on 28 swings, while sophomore setter
Emma Rivers (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown West) and senior setter
Allyssa Rock (West Chazy, N.Y./Beekmantown) handed out 14 and 12 assists, respectively. Senior libero/defensive specialist
Maddy Zophy (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) defended 24 digs, while junior outside hitter/opposite
Jenn Braun (Garrison, N.Y./Walter Panas) posted six block assists.
For St. Lawrence, senior outside hitter/opposite Annika Kreppein finished with a 15-kill, 18-dig double-double, while senior outside hitter/opposite Natalie Piper had a 13-kill, 16-dig double-double. Senior defensive specialist/outside hitter Reagan Collier-Hogan registered a 29-assist, 13-dig double-double and also served up three aces.
Plattsburgh State falls to 7-12 overall with the loss and next faces Union College (12 p.m.) and St. John Fisher College (2 p.m.) in a tri-match at Union on Saturday, Oct. 16. St. Lawrence rises to 11-8 overall with the win and takes on Wesleyan University (1 p.m.) and Hamilton College (3 p.m.) in a tri-match at Hamilton on Saturday, Oct. 16.
St. Lawrence used an 8-1 run in the first set to break open an 11-4 lead, one in which it would not relinquish the rest of the set. The Cardinals went on a 5-3 surge late in the set, and a block assist by Braun and senior middle hitter
Alicia Fisher (Brooklyn, N.Y./Science Skills) pulled Plattsburgh State within 23-15, but the Saints scored the set's final two points to claim the first, 25-15.
The Cardinals hopped out to a 4-2 lead in the second set following a kill by
Payton Zophy, but eight unanswered Saint points reversed the lead to 10-4 in favor of the visitors. A 6-2 Plattsburgh State run that included kills from Bjelko, Braun,
Payton Zophy and senior outside hitter/opposite
Meghan O'Brien (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus) and a block assist by senior middle hitter
Ann Beauchamp (Potsdam, N.Y./Potsdam) and Braun cut the gap to 23-18, but St. Lawrence relied on kills from Collier-Hogan and first-year middle hitter/opposite Rachel Boudreau to close out the second set.
Plattsburgh State scored in bunches often in the third set, and a kill off a free ball by Beauchamp capped off a 7-0 run, which included the Cardinals' longest term of service in the set. Kills by Rivers and
Payton Zophy handed the Cardinals a 25-6 triumph in the third.
The two teams battled back and forth in the fourth set, and though St. Lawrence brought up match point at 24-21 following a Cardinal service error, Plattsburgh State pulled within 24-23 after a serving error and a St. Lawrence hitting error. A block assist by Collier-Hogan and sophomore opposite/middle hitter Vivian Zymeck on the ensuing rally ultimately sealed the match victory for the Saints.
St. Lawrence outhit Plattsburgh State by a .147-.136 margin and held the upper hand in service aces (7-6) and digs (75-73). The Cardinals finished with an 8-3 edge in blocks.
Plattsburgh State raised money at the match to support the battle against breast cancer, with all proceeds benefiting the Side-Out Foundation.
