PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – First-year head coach Kelsea Healis opened up her tenure at Plattsburgh State with a win, as the Cardinals topped Castleton University, 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 26-28, 27-25), in non-conference women's volleyball action Wednesday evening at Memorial Hall in the season opener for both teams.
 
It marked the Cardinals' first time in action in 669 days, as the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The Cardinals hit .098 as a team for the match and limited the Spartans to just .000 hitting for the evening. Plattsburgh State also held the upper hand in service aces (12-9), blocks (7-3) and digs (56-49).
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 1-0 overall with the win and next faces Utica College (2 p.m.) and host SUNY Poly (4 p.m.) at the SUNY Poly Tri-Match on Saturday, Sept. 4. Castleton drops to 0-1 overall with the loss and squares off with Norwich University (10 a.m.) and Northern Vermont University-Lyndon (12 p.m.) next on Saturday, Sept. 4.
 
After back-and-forth play dominated the early stages of the first set, Castleton eventually opened up a 12-8 lead. Plattsburgh State countered with six unanswered points, and a service ace by sophomore defensive specialist/outside hitter Payton Zophy (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) staked the Cardinals to a 14-12 advantage. While the Spartans twice tied the score at 14-all and 15-all, a five-point Cardinal surge ultimately gave Plattsburgh State the room it needed to pull out a 25-21 set one win.
 
Castleton score the first three points of the second set, but Plattsburgh State chipped away and eventually took leads of 6-5 and 7-6. The Spartans scored three straight points to take a 9-7 cushion, but a 5-0 Cardinal tear that included two service aces and a kill by senior middle hitter Ann Beauchamp (Potsdam, N.Y./Potsdam) put Plattsburgh State out in front, 12-9. The Spartans never threatened down the stretch in the second, and the Cardinals took the set, 25-18.
 
Down 23-17 in the third stanza, Plattsburgh State fashioned a furious rally behind the serve of sophomore setter Emma Rivers (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown West), as the Cardinals tallied six unanswered points to draw level at 23-all following a kill by senior outside hitter/opposite Meghan O'Brien (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus). The two teams went back and forth before kills by Zophy and junior outside hitter/opposite Jenn Braun (Garrison, N.Y./Walter Panas) brought up match point at 26-25. Castleton stormed back with three straight points, however, to take the third, 28-26.
 
While the Spartans controlled the momentum for much of the fourth set, the Cardinals went on a 6-1 tear, and a Castleton attack error resulted in a 20-18 Plattsburgh State lead. The Spartans capitalized on a few Cardinal miscues to go back up by two points, but Beauchamp landed a kill and service ace to tie the score at 22-all. Castleton brought up set point following kills by freshman outside hitter Vanessa LeBrun and junior outside hitter Lizzie Goodrich, but a Spartan service error and a solo block by senior middle hitter Alicia Fisher (Brooklyn, N.Y./Science Skills) knotted the score at 24-all. While a LeBrun termination gave Castleton set point once again, a Spartan service error and a Zophy service ace put Plattsburgh State in the driver's seat to end the match. On the ensuing rally, O'Brien capitalized on a free ball off an errant pass on the Spartans' serve receive, handing the Cardinals a 27-25 match-clinching victory in the fourth.
 
O'Brien's career-high 10 kills paced the Cardinal attack, while Braun added a career-high nine. Plattsburgh State utilized several different setters in the match, with Rivers and senior setter/defensive specialist Olga Muka (Hicksville, N.Y./Holy Trinity Diocesan) registering 13 and 11, respectively, in their Plattsburgh State debuts. Beauchamp stuffed the stat sheet with seven kills, five service aces and four total blocks (three assist, one solo), while Zophy defended a match-high 21 digs in her collegiate debut.
 
For Castleton, LeBrun and freshman outside hitter Hailey Martinovich each boasted seven kills to lead the offense, while senior setter Bre MacDuff quarterbacked the offense to the tune of 19 assists. Freshman libero/defensive specialist Jen Halliday reinforced the back row with 13 digs, while LeBrun and Goodrich each tallied two block assists.