POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team dropped a 3-2 (26-28, 25-18, 17-25, 25-19, 15-6) thriller to North Country rival SUNY Potsdam in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) finale for both teams on Friday night at Maxcy Hall.
 
The Cardinals hit .093 for the match, while the Bears fashioned a .103 hitting percentage. Potsdam owned the upper hand in service aces (17-13), blocks (6-3) and digs (67-64) as well.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 4-14 overall (0-9 SUNYAC) with the loss and next faces SUNY Canton (12 p.m.) and St. Lawrence University (2 p.m.) tomorrow at Canton. Potsdam rises to 12-10 overall (2-7 SUNYAC) with the win and next squares off with Skidmore College (4 p.m.) and Clarkson University (6 p.m.) tomorrow at Clarkson.
 
The Cardinals opened up a 12-9 lead in the first set on the strength of a 5-0 run that was buoyed by two kills by first-year setter/right side Kyleigh Ganz (Phoenix, Ariz./Seton Catholic Prep). Potsdam took the lead back with a 5-0 surge of its own, and the two teams traded runs until the Bears brought up set point at 24-23. First-year outside hitter Maggie Lyon (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) staved off a pair of set points with kills, and a Ganz kill, a service ace by junior defensive specialist/libero Shannon Fitzpatrick (Westtown, N.Y./Rhinebeck) and a Bear attacking error gave Plattsburgh State a 28-26 victory in the first.
 
While the Bears never trailed in the second set, the Cardinals made it close late thanks to the serve of graduate student right side Kaitlyn Bjelko (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown), as Plattsburgh State scored four consecutive points to draw within 21-17. Potsdam scored four of the set's final five points to claim the second, 25-18.
 
Senior right side Jenn Braun (Garrison, N.Y./Walter Panas) kicked off a 7-0 run in the middle stages of the third set with a pair of kills, and Plattsburgh State opened up a 13-6 advantage. The Cardinals continued to cruise down the stretch, and a Ganz termination sealed a 25-17 triumph for the visitors in the third.
 
After a Bear attacking error gave the Cardinals a 1-0 cushion in the fourth, Potsdam went on a 5-0 tear to build a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the set. Kills by Ganz, graduate student middle hitter Alicia Fisher (Brooklyn, N.Y./Science Skills) and Bjelko trimmed the gap to 21-17, but the Bears wound up forcing a deciding fifth set with a 25-19 win in the fourth.
 
A 6-1 Potsdam run early in the fifth ultimately wound up being the difference, as the Bears clinched the match victory with a 15-6 triumph in the deciding frame.
 
Ganz ignited the Cardinal attack with a career-high 14 kills and added 18 assists, six digs, two service aces and two block assists. First-year middle hitter Jeannette Ashong (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) landed 10 kills, while junior setter Emma Rivers (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown West) doled out 26 assists. Junior libero Payton Zophy (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) defended 21 digs, matching a career high.
 
For Potsdam, senior outside hitter Jessica Ader and senior outside hitter Mikayla Myers recorded 13 and 11 kills, respectively, while senior setter Colleen Murphy distributed 22 assists. Ader completed the double-double with 12 digs. Senior defensive specialist/libero Marley Hawthorne and first-year setter/outside hitter Sophia Layer each floored four aces from the service line, while senior outside hitter Mackenzie Fisher and junior outside hitter/defensive specialist Sophia Rowny tallied 20 and 18 digs, respectively.